The adolescent years are a time when body image is crucial and peers can be painfully critical (Morrill, Leach, Shreeve, & Radebaugh, 1991). The presence of an eating disorder in this critical period can seriously harm an adolescent physically as well as mentally. Although the tendency to leave out obesity when thinking about eating disorders, the most prevalent eating disorder is overeating, or binge-eating. There has been a 75% relative increase in adolescent obesity over the past 3 decades and the numbers are still on the rise (Cameron, Killen, Hayward, & Taylor, 1999). With the exception of genetic inheritance, obese adolescents who constantly overeat could be due to a number of social implications. This paper aims to demonstrate that peers and family play a crucial role in the endless cycle of obesity, and they can either hinder or impede it. Also, a primary prevention strategy based on the social learning theory will be discussed and reviewed.
             Obesity has only recently been classified as an eating disorder. Previously the label 'obese' was simply for labeling sake, but clearly serious implications are involved with the mental and physical health of the individual and more needs to be done. Currently, the amount of obese people is still on the rise and about 23% of the North American population is clinically obese (Gullotta, Adams & Markstrom, 1999). It has been shown that 55% of all North Americans are overweight (the figure including those that are obese), although the numbers could rise since the younger population who are overweight could become obese later in life. Those in their adolescent years are particularly at high risk since adolescent obesity more often than not predicts adult obesity, whereas childhood obesity is not a determining factor (Cameron et al., 1999). Health in the adolescent years is crucial for health benefits later in life.
             The nature versus nature debate exists in the study of ...