What is your opinion on teenagers joining MFP?

hannahamay

I'm eighteen, so technically I guess I can still be considered a teenager; but my question is directed towards those who are under eighteen. Do you think it's appropriate for a sixteen-year-old to be concerned about his/her weight? I know when I was sixteen I didn't care about what I ate and it caught up to me. I personally think it's a good idea for younger people to eat healthy, but I really don't know if I'm all for them joining a website that has them count calories because younger people can easily get obsessed with it and develop an eating disorder. That's just my opinion, and I'm interested to know what you all think! If you're under eighteen I'd like to know your input too.

RitaSantoss

Well I'm 18 as well, and I think that people under my age can join the site if they really need to lose the weight due to health issues. But unfortunatly I've seen girls that are 15 and 16 years old and they are already so thin that it is ridculous that they are even considering losing weight. It's a sad thing.

WickedBean

Yes, I think it is natural for a 16 year old to be concerned about their weight, I was a life time member at weightwatchers by 16 with a dr's supervision and the help of my mom, I asked to join WW when I was 14, couldn't join until I was 15...and I am far from having an eating disorder, you are never too young to learn about nutrition imo. Being as this site is for users 18 years or older (its stated in the rules when you join) a 16 year old should NOT be on MFP. There is a site directed for teenagers thats sparkteens.com

mistybkarma

I'm 27, and I wish I would have been concerned when I was younger about what I ate. Unfortunately, I did not care until I was 22 and now I feel like a blimp. I think as long as the younger girls can be realistic about their weight and only want to be healthy (not anorexic looking), then good for them.

amnsetie

In my country 18 year olds are adults
Welcome to the site ladies

younger teens have different needs and there is a specific site for them called Sparkteens.

It deals with the issues mentioned ^^^

JeaninePaige

If they are under the supervision of a doctor and really do need to lose weight I see no problem with it.
But I mean really under the care of a doctor. When I was 16 I went on WW for the first time but my doctor approved it first.

supplemama

MFP is for adults. Teenagers and children have different nutritional needs and should not be on a fitness and weight loss site geared towards adults.

midcoast_mommy

I'm not a teenager, but I think teens should be able to have a MFP account. After all, it's important for people of all ages to live a healthy lifestyle. It's good for kids to learn how to eat right and exercise before their health becomes a problem. Maybe they could be allowed to sign up but have some way other users can notify the site owners of any signs of anorexia or anything that looks suspicious/dangerous.

camrunner

I don't see anything wrong with it. I was 330+ lbs at 16 and got it down to about 180 by the time I turned 18. This site contains a lot of information and tools that would have been very useful to me, that I had to learn the hard way instead.

stagknight

Calorie counting while your body is still developing/shaping up is probably not a good idea. At 18 I would say yes to monitoring what you eat but not trying to force your body down to a size zero, some people just aren't meant to be a size zero, even if they want to be. I speak from experience, my sister was a teen anorexic and almost died, all due to her dance instructor commenting she was "looking a little chunky!"

Nerdy_Rose

Opinion is irrelevant here, as it is against the rules.

hannahamay

I'm not trying to lose weight, I just like to keep track of what I'm eating. I started this topic because I've seen girls on this site with their calorie limit set to under 1,200 and it honestly concerns me because they obviously aren't educated enough about calories to be on this site. I understand if someone needs to lose weight, but doing it the unhealthy way isn't right.

JeaninePaige

I'm not trying to lose weight, I just like to keep track of what I'm eating. I started this topic because I've seen girls on this site with their calorie limit set to under 1,200 and it honestly concerns me because they obviously aren't educated enough about calories to be on this site. I understand if someone needs to lose weight, but doing it the unhealthy way isn't right.

Totally agree. When I was in HS I knew a lot of girls who were taking diet pills behind their parent's backs. Many of them were already very skinny and it was concerning. This site has been a learning process for me. I learned that you need to eat above 1200 cals and all of that fun stuff. I think if the kid is being monitored and is mature enough to do it the right way, then why not? But I don't think something super restrictive is the answer.

dlwyatt82

I was definitely eating poorly all through my childhood, though I was still not terribly fat all of the time, because I was still growing, and was involved in many physical activities. Some aspects of MFP wouldn't have been terribly useful before moving out and shopping / cooking for myself, but keeping an honest food diary for a couple of weeks might have opened my eyes to all the crap I was eating (and how many extra calories that involved).

uglyhobo

I think it's okay for them to be concerned about their weight, just as long as they don't follow the requirements MFP gives them.
They're still growing and the calories MFP will be telling them to eat is way too low.

Also for anyone regardless of age this is a much better way to calculate your requirement for calories
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=121703981
Here for anyone under 18 http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=128727231

Not eating enough calories will stunt your growth if you are still growing. Even if you're a teenager and not getting taller, other parts of your body are growing and developing, such as your organs. Dieting hard could cause stunted growth or damage to their organs.

gvheintz

On the one hand, my heart goes out to the teenagers who think they need to be here, especially if they are doing the "I want to be popular and losing 3 pounds will help" thing. On the other hand, my heart goes out to teens who were never taught about proper nutrition, who ate too much junk food, etc. (I fell into that category.)

Maybe I would feel better if there were a tutorial that a teenager had to walk through to help keep them safe and give them information about the proper way to lose weight? Something that would go off for them if they are not eating enough calories, etc or to try and teach them better nutrition to go along with just logging calories.

I remember having to watch my weight in high school ... (and before) ... and I did it with a calorie book, pen and paper to try and keep a journal for my calories. All I looked at were the calories. I still have my journal from back then ... and I was so unhappy as I tried to lose weight and beat myself up. No matter how much weight I lost (and I lost about 25 pounds in high school) I felt fat. I couldn't get around it in my head ... I remember a "skinny" girl having to loosen the headset belt at McDonalds after me ... but in my mind I was still fat.

I guess my inclination would be to hope that they didn't need a site like this and I hope they don't go through the same struggles I have with my weight loss over the years.

uglyhobo

In my country 18 year olds are adults
Welcome to the site ladies

younger teens have different needs and there is a specific site for them called Sparkteens.

It deals with the issues mentioned ^^^

that website looks very brosciencey

hannahamay

On the one hand, my heart goes out to the teenagers who think they need to be here, especially if they are doing the "I want to be popular and losing 3 pounds will help" thing. On the other hand, my heart goes out to teens who were never taught about proper nutrition, who ate too much junk food, etc. (I fell into that category.)

Maybe I would feel better if there were a tutorial that a teenager had to walk through to help keep them safe and give them information about the proper way to lose weight? Something that would go off for them if they are not eating enough calories, etc or to try and teach them better nutrition to go along with just logging calories.

I remember having to watch my weight in high school ... (and before) ... and I did it with a calorie book, pen and paper to try and keep a journal for my calories. All I looked at were the calories. I still have my journal from back then ... and I was so unhappy as I tried to lose weight and beat myself up. No matter how much weight I lost (and I lost about 25 pounds in high school) I felt fat. I couldn't get around it in my head ... I remember a "skinny" girl having to loosen the headset belt at McDonalds after me ... but in my mind I was still fat.

I guess my inclination would be to hope that they didn't need a site like this and I hope they don't go through the same struggles I have with my weight loss over the years.

I'm really sorry that you had to go through that. I agree that it's not all about calories, because something that may be 100 calories can be 10x more unhealthy than something that's healthy and is 300 calories. That's part of the reason why I think teenagers shouldn't be on a site like this because even though it lets you choose the option of knowing how much sugar, fat, ect. you consume throughout the day, it doesn't tell you whether what you're eating is healthy or not. I think unless you've done the proper research on healthy weight loss, you shouldn't become a member of a website that promotes it because you can be further jeopardizing your health.

Icelandic_Saga

I think it's a good idea just so long as they stay off the forums :S not a place for kids

seventwenty

If you suck, I will taunt you. The end.

kuunsilta

I kinda wish that I joined when I was a teen and when I first started losing weight. It may have helped my from gaining it all back, if I had this community's support then like I do now.

CarleyLovesPets

I think I joined here before (different account) around 16.
This site helped me because I was eating 800 - 1000 calories before coming on MFP and then I learned I should be eating at least 1200 calories.

I didn't really think eating 800 calories would have been bad for me - and this was on top of working out 2 hours a day.
Yes I lost a lot of weight (50 in 3 months) ... But I am SURE I lost a WHOLE lot of muscle too.

Glasgow_Vegan

I'm 26 years old and before joining MFP I kept a food diary on tumblr. After searching through the weight loss tagged posts I found a lot of disturbing content such as 'water fasting' diets where the person would fast for up to 12 days in a row. If sites like MFP warn teenagers when they eat under 1200 calories a day that in hinders weight loss, that can only be a good thing. At least there's pressure on people to actually eat on this site.

Plentiful_Tentacles

I don't see what's so wrong with it. I always believed adults are adults because of their maturity, not because of their age. Regardless of what people say, a 400 lb teen who wants to lose weight should have the option to use the site, despite the opinion that "they're still growing." So long as they're not using it to support cases of anorexia. Perhaps teens just want to maintain the same weight, or want to gain weight, such as a high school wrestler. Kids these days are unhealthy anyways. What's so wrong with them keeping track of what they eat? Interests in their health while they're young can definitely lead to good habits when they're older.

slkehl

Probably not a great idea for liability reasons. But I find MFP encourages positive body image and healthy weight and calorie goals.

Laura_Suzie

I've been dieting since age 8 or so, so yes.

CruzZ8

I used to think that minors shouldn't worry about dieting, but I've come to realize that one should always be mindful about healthy eating--the earlier the better. And if kids dealing with obesity use this website as a resource, I think that is a great thing.

ironanimal

Calorie guidelines here are set up for adults so they can do themselves major harm following them.