Peer Pressure To Be Slim

Teenage girls identify themselves according to the peer groups that they belong to. A study done in University of Miami proved that girls’ own definition of normal body weight and their perception of what others consider normal body weight depend on the peer group that they are in.

Dangerous weight control behaviours such as excessive dieting and can lead to serious long-term health implications. Teen girls identifying with athletic peers are less concerned about their weight while girls identifying with non-conformist peers are more concerned about their weight and appearance. Latter group tends to practice dangerous weight losing techniques.

Shorter REM And Overweight

A research done by Xianchen Liu, MD, PhD, of the University of Pittsburgh, showed the association of short sleep time and overweight in children and adolescents. It’s mostly attributed to reduced REM sleep. When compared with normal-weight children, overweight children slept about 22 minutes less, shorter REM period, and lower REM activity, density and had lower sleep efficiency.