Adolescents and Healthy Living

There seems to be an ever growing trend of unhealthy behaviors among adolescents in today's society. The transition to adulthood is the time when lifelong behaviors concerning health are developed. Unfortunately, the healthy behaviors, such as good nutrition, physical activity, and avoidance of tobacco products, are not always encouraged and reinforced at home. Habits of motor vehicle accidents, drug use, alcohol use, violence, and risky sexual behaviors are being developed in place of healthy behaviors ("Adolescent Health", 2011). The media encourages these behaviors, and in some cases seems to promote them through advertisements, endorsements, and portrayal of characters with these habits. As far as advertisements, I personally have seen an increase in the number of alcohol and tobacco ads in magazines over the last couple years.

I think that the most important way to stop the development of risk behaviors is encouraging healthy behaviors from a young age. I have friends who were able to eat what they want, and didn't have any rules at home as to what they could do. Now that they are in college, they are somewhat picky eaters, don't care for a lot of healthy foods, and are pretty sedentary. Whereas, when I was a kid, I was encouraged to go outside a lot to play, and I was forced to eat a balanced diet. Now that I am older, I still enjoy being outside. I also try and eat a balanced diet, even on a college budget. I find myself eating out a lot less than some of my friends, and I think a major factor of that is just how things were when I was a kid. It is a lot harder to develop habits when you are older, than it is to upkeep old habits. My recommendation for parents is to invest the time in making sure that their children are healthy, and that they are encouraging healthy habits from a young age. As far as health educators are concerned, it is important for them to target children and their parents in some programs, so that they have the exposure to motivate them to be active and eat healthy. Health providers should not be afraid to talk to parents about their children's diet and exercise. By discussing this with parents, and possibly the children themselves, good habits can be encouraged. For those who are already in their adolescent years, it is important to explain the effects of poor health in the long-term as well as short-term. Parents don't have as much control when their kids reach this age, so it is important to address the kids without belittling them, or else what you're saying will have no effect. If they are addressed as adults, they will respond, and hopefully take control of their health.

 The media depicts a lot of characters these days who have problems, and do illicit things. Add that to the advertisements for alcohol and tobacco products that can be found almost anywhere, and children and adolescents aren't getting positive imagery from the media about their health. There is more drama to the "bad" characters, so they draw the attention and focus of the show. If some of this negative imagery was removed, it would be easier to convince adolescents that they need to take their health more seriously, and not develop bad habits.

 I think that society needs to pay more attention to the young people, especially adolescents, because they are important for the future, and if they have problems, they are only going to get worse when it gets to the next generation. There is beginning to be more focus on young and health prevention, but I see it as still developing as people start to realize how serious of an issue it is. With more focus and resources, there is a lot of potential to change to habits of adolescents, and get them to take their health more seriously. No one is immortal or invincible, but unfortunately, many young people seem to hold the belief that nothing can hurt them.



references:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, (2011).Adolescent health. Retrieved from website: http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/adolescenthealth/index.htm