Obesity and the Mental Health of Adolescence

Mental health is described as the successful performance of mental function, resulting in productive activities, fulfilling relationships with other people and the ability to adapt to change and cope with adversity; from early childhood until late life, mental health is the springboard of thinking and communications skills, learning, emotional growth, resilience and self-esteem.

The definition helps to exlpain the extreme diversity of topics that fall under mental health. It states that mental health is the springboard of thinking, communication skills, learning, emotional growth, resilience and self-esteem. It is arguable that every aspect of our lives are related to our mental health.

Because mental health is related to so much or our lives, many things can have an effect on the state of that health. Every day occurrences adjust our state of mind, and form our cognitive habits. These occurrences make up our day to day lives. We then form our learning, social and behavioral skills off of these lives. This is how small events in our lives can influence our mental health.

Obesity, one of America's leading health problems, is an excellent example of a physical aspect that influences mental health. We know that mental health is developed throughout our entire lives, but I am going to focus specifically on obesity and the mental health of adolescence.

Obesity is defined as an excessively high amount of body fat in relation to lean body mass. Overweight refers to increased body weight in relation to height, when compared to some standard of acceptable or desirable weight. I am going to discuss how such a seemingly insignificant characteristic, that 30% of America's population share, can effect the academic performance, self-esteem and development of depression in an adolescent.