Teen Health Articles

In today’s world, it is not uncommon for parents and guardian to spend some time going through teen health articles, just to keep themselves aware of the potential health problems that their children or wards could be exposed to. Many parents rely on such sources of information, because they feel that there is hardly any communication between them and their children. In fact several parents with teenagers are clueless about why their children seem to be different and wonder if something is seriously wrong. However, drastic behavioral changes are not necessarily a cause for concern in those people who are in their teens.

Teenage can be described as the period of transitioning, from childhood to adulthood.

This transitioning phase can be quite a challenging one, not just for the people who are going through it, but also for their families. In fact, teenagers have a reputation for being difficult to handle. This could be due to the fact that there are so many changes taking place within their lives, which include physical changes, emotional changes, mental changes, hormonal changes, and so on. Many teenagers find these changes difficult to handle and therefore, are prone to mood swings, depression, anger and in some cases violence too.

Moreover, there are several factors like peer pressure, that cause a teenager to believe that he or she needs to be more independent, especially when it comes to taking decisions. Because of this, many teenagers take their decisions without consulting their parents or other adults and in the bargain, end up making the wrong choices. Some of these incorrect choices could be related to their academic, social, personal or professional life, but many of them also tend to make mistakes that could have a grave effect on their health. Unfortunately, some of the common health problems seen in teenagers all over the world are obesity, alcoholism, smoking, drug abuse, eating disorders, depression, teenage pregnancy and many more.

In fact, there are many teenagers who make sure that they do not listen to the advice of their parents, just because they feel that their parents are old fashioned or have outdated values and beliefs. However, studies indicate that if the same piece of advice comes from a different source, like a health magazine or a talk show, many teenagers are willing to at least consider it. This is why it is very important for all teenagers to have access to a wide variety of health magazines, which contain teen health articles, dealing with some of the major health concerns that are prevalent in teenagers, along with the measures that can be taken to avoid such problems.

Common teen health issues articles

Most of the teen health articles focus on the major areas of concern, when it comes to health problems in teenagers. Given below are a few of the most common topics that most teen health articles are based on:

Substance Abuse

There are several harmful and perhaps even toxic substances that teenagers at times consume, not realizing the long term repercussions these substances could have on their health and well being. Some of the common substances that are abused by teenagers include steroids, alcohol, cigarettes and illegal drugs.

All teenagers try their best to look good, by working out or participating in sports, to build their muscles. However, it could take a while for teenagers to get the muscles that they want and some of them may even start taking excessive amounts of steroids, to bulk their bodies up faster.

Peer pressure is one of the main contributors towards underage drinking, despite the laws that are in place. Studies indicate that underage drinking is one of the main contributors to death caused by injuries. When people who are too young consume alcohol, their bodies cannot handle it and they are too young to realize what to do in such situations. This is probably why teenage drinking is one of the main causes of accidents, homicides and even suicides.

The use of tobacco can have a serious effect on the development and functioning of the brain, which could become apparent later on in life. People who start smoking at an earlier age are also lot more vulnerable to respiratory diseases or even cancer.

Eating Problems

No teenage magazine is complete without at least a few teen nutrition articles. This could be because a person’s eating patterns may change drastically, soon after he or she enters the teenage years. Most teenagers look down upon health foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, dairy products and so on. Research indicates that most teenagers would rather eat junk food, like chips, cookies, pizzas, burgers and so on. Unfortunately, eating high amounts of these foods could lead to obesity, which in turn could cause a person to suffer from poor body image issues. Some teenagers may even take their self criticism too far, which in turn could result in serious eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa, which increases the risk of malnutrition in teenagers. Some of then may also deal with the low self image by eating more unhealthy foods, thereby developing an eating disorder, which is known as binge eating.

Sex is one of the most common health concerns prevalent in most teenagers today and the best way for parents to deal with this is to be honest and open while discussing this topic with children.

Fortunately, there several good teen health articles as well as kids health articles that are easily accessible through online websites or other similar resources. However, it is important to for all parents and guardians to bear in mind that every individual is different, especially teenagers and each of the may have distinctive requirements of their own. The information given in most teen health articles should be regarded as a basic guideline on healthy living for most teenagers and not necessarily a ground rule. However, in case a teenager shows signs of excessive anger, resentment, depression, violence and stress or gets into practices like drinking alcohol, smoking, drug abuse and so on, then it may be best for every parent to seek the help and guidance of a professional psychologist, without any delay.

Submitted on January 16, 2014