Healthy Lifestyles Can Follow Teens Into Adulthood
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As teenagers grow more independent they begin to learn how to choose to live their own lifestyles. Many adolescents fall into unhealthy habits and find themselves struggling to get back on a healthy track. Other adolescents are content to live unconcerned lifestyles eating and doing what they want without worrying too much about it. Some teens create lifelong habits that could in the end cause negative effects or if they are positive habits they could have positive effects as they grow older.
Amy Rae a sophomore in high school finds it important to stay healthy and be concerned about her health. The Lancaster teen said she thinks teenagers are easily molded and influenced by their surroundings. They are more inclined to develop certain habits such as smoking if they are often surrounded by such things.
Teenagers also can have problems trying to balance healthy living with school work and other extracurricular activities. Often one side gets neglected. If a student participates in sports he has less time to do his homework. On the other hand if a student is stressed about tests and papers she has less time to worry about exercising and eating healthy.
Although Amy believes living healthy should be a priority some teens are not as concerned about what they eat or their exercise routines. Samantha Wagner a 16–year–old student from Quarryville agrees that teenagers are highly influenced by their surroundings. She said she thinks many students eat unhealthy foods because that is what their friends do when they hang out.
"When you hang out with your friends you are not sitting around eating carrots. You are eating chips candy or ice cream" said Wagner. Wagner in particular is not as concerned about what she eats because she does not have a weight problem and stays fairly active. She believes that students her age who do focus on healthy eating usually have an existing weight problem that they are trying to conquer.
"Most kids my age basically eat whatever they feel like eating" Wagner said. "I am not as worried about what I eat because I am an athletic person. I have a high metabolism so I can eat pretty much anything. I guess there are other teens who have weight issues so they are more worried about eating healthy."
Wagner thinks that overweight teens are affected by the social pressures of high school. "I think the overweight kids have more problems in school because they get picked on and teased which makes them depressed and could make them unable to focus on schoolwork" said Wagner.
Even though many teenagers are just as unconcerned about what they eat as Wagner is some students do have trouble maintaining a healthy weight and overall lifestyle. According to FamilyDoctor.org the habits teenagers develop while in high school can have significant health effects in the future.
Many diseases adults develop could have been prevented by developing healthier habits as teenagers. According to FamilyDoctor.org "65 percent of all deaths in adults are caused by heart disease cancer and stroke. In many cases these diseases were preventable. Many of the behaviors that cause these diseases begin at a young age."
This statistic gives fair warning to young students to spend a little extra time making sure they develop healthier lifestyles so that they have a better chance of avoiding life–threatening diseases once they get older. As for Wagner and Amy they did agree that habits they develop now will affect them in their futures.
"I think teens need to learn healthy habits when they are young" Wagner said. "If they don't exercise when they are young they most likely won't as adults either. The same goes with healthy eating habits."
"I find it very important for teenagers to live healthy lifestyles" Amy said. "As teenagers continue to grow they enter into the stage of being a young adult. When you are a teenager you learn most of what you need to know about maintaining a healthy living lifestyle at school and from your surroundings."
Young students have varying views of what to eat and when to exercise. Some like Wagner are not as concerned while others like Amy make it a priority in their lives. Teenagers simply need to remember that what habits they develop now may follow them into the future.
Excerpts taken from "Healthy Lifestyle Can Follow Teens Into Adulthood" from The Intelligencer Journal. Read the full article: http://www.pennlive.com/newsflash/index.ssf/story/healthy-lifestyles-can-follow-teens-into-adulthood/de6aed33a1944b9385595e3109061c51
Best Teen Diets recommends a well balanced diet of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat or fat-free dairy. We offer nutrition information for teens, parents and teachers that emphasizes the importance of healthy eating for teens. For more information visit our website www.bestteendiets.org
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