Adolescent obesity is a major public health crisis nationally and internationally. “In 2012, the percentage of adolescents aged 1,219 were obese. The increase in adolescent obesity between 2010 and 2014 was from 5% to almost 21% in the United States” (Flegal, 2013). Adolescent obesity is a serious problem in the United States and must be addressed. CausesAdolescent obesity is caused by many factors such as a person's lifestyle, eating habits, and environment. No single factor or behavior can cause obesity. When children decide to eat more than they need, their body stores extra calories in fat cells to use that energy later. Over time, if this pattern continues and their body does not need this stored energy, they develop more fat cells and can lead to obesity (Kaneshiro, 2012). Eating Habits Poor eating habits are one of the factors that can lead a teenager to develop obesity. Parents are also a key factor in a child becoming obese. At home, parents tend to buy junk food so their children eat things they should eat instead, like fruits and vegetables. Additionally, parents tend to have less time to plan and prepare healthier meals, leading to children consuming more processed and fast foods that are generally less healthy than home-cooked meals ( Kaneshiro, 2012). If a parent is overweight and has poor diet and exercise, the child is likely to adopt the same habits. As many as one in five children in the United States are overweight or obese, and this number continues to rise (Benaroch, 2012). The way we eat as children can strongly affect our eating behaviors as adults. When we repeat these behaviors over many years, they become habits. These learned habits lead us to eat regardless of whether we are...... middle of article....../medlineplus/ency/patientinstructions/00383.htmKarnik, SK, & Kanekar, AKUS National Library of Medicine, (2010). Childhood obesity: a global public health crisis. Retrieved from National Biotechnology Center website: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3278864/ Nordquist, CN (2010). All about obesity. Medical News Today, retrieved from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/info/obesity/ Adolescent Obesity. (2014). (PhD dissertation, University of Rochester) Retrieved from http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/Encyclopedia/Content.aspx?ContentTypeID=90&ContentID=P01627U.S Department Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, (2012). Overweight and obesity are the causes and consequences Retrieved from the CDC website: http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/adult/causes/index.htmlWeeks, AW (2013). Psychological effects of obesity in adolescents. Live strong, don't you:353259