Lifestyle habits during adolescence impact future health

The adolescence years are times when a child is going through fundamental physical changes. Medical experts suggest that great care needs to be taken at this important transition phase with regards to shaping up good health for the growing child.

Biological changes take place at an accelerated place between the ages of ten to nineteen. Although you would find the bulk of the teenagers to be thriving with activity this time period is actually quite sensitive when it comes to the consequences that your actions can have on your health. 

The habits that adolescents pick up during this period of time will determine their health for the future. Many youngster experiment with drugs and alcohol and then there is the fear of sexually transmitted diseases along with car accidents etc. 

Dr. Frank Biro from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital says “They are quite literally our future. If we don’t take good care of them, there’s a strong likelihood when they’re running the ship they’re not going to have a good time running the ship.” 

The problem is that the care system designed for children in this age bracket is quite poor. Not many doctors are specialized in adolescent’s complex problems. The bulk of those at risk are the poor yet there has not been much effort in this direction. The National Research Council and Institute of Medicine has concluded that the medical experts need to step up their efforts in this direction.

There is no doubt that smoking habits have declined in teenagers over the years and so has teen pregnancy. The problems for the teens are however much wider than these two issue. Teen obesity is on the increase, children are less likely to engage in physical activity, chronic diseases like diabetes and asthma amongst children have also increased and injuries resulting from car crashes are amongst the leading teen problems today.  

During the pediatric years the children are taken for routine check ups. After crossing the age of twenty the number of individuals consulting doctors is the lowest. The decline starts to take effect during the adolescent years. This makes it impossible for the doctors to play a role in intervening in the lives of teenagers that are on their way to picking up bad habits which are bound to have long term effects on their lives in the future.