It's no surprise that for girls, puberty can be a trying time. Those who develop early may feel ashamed of their new curves and status as sexual beings. Those who develop later than their peers feel left behind. Weight gain associated with puberty is normal, but can leave girls worrying, "Am I fat?" Almost every girl becomes self-conscious during puberty, to a degree, says psychology professor Elane Rehr, co-author of 101 Ways to Help Your Daughter Love Her Body. "The ones who go through puberty early have the most trouble and tend to hide their bodies under huge sweatshirts."
Puberty coincides with the brain and hormone changes that make teens very socially aware, says nurse practitioner Barbara Poncelet. "As a teen becomes more aware of what is and is not socially acceptable, there is pressure to have a 'perfect' body," she says. "Because the media has such an enormous impact on what we think, and because the bodies we see on TV are idealized, it puts a ton of pressure on that teen to live up to a norm that doesn't even really exist."
This carries over into motivation for fitness. "Mostly, teen girls want to lose weight to be thin or to look a certain way," rather that to improve sports performance or health, says Poncelet, who is About.com's Guide to Teen Health. Obese girls tend not to exercise, unless they do it with a friend: "Having a workout buddy seems to take the stigma away from exercising and is the positive reinforcement an obese teen girl tends to need to stay motivated to be physically active," Poncelet says.
