Let's take charge of our Teenager's Health: Guiding a teen to live a productive life

A person's overall health is about more than the absence of disease. It's the state of physical, mental, and social well-being. Ultimately, it's the key to living a productive and satisfying life.

As you get older, you're able to start making your own decisions about a lot of things that matter most to you. You may choose your own clothes, music, and friends. You also may be ready to make decisions about your body and health.

Making healthy decisions about what you eat and drink, how active you are, and how much sleep you get is a great place to start. Here you'll learn

How does the body use energy?

Your body needs energy to function and grow. Calories from food and drinks give you that energy. Think of food as energy to charge up your battery for the day. Throughout the day, you use energy from the battery to think and move, so you need to eat and drink to stay powered up. Balancing the energy you take in through food and beverages with the energy you use for growth, activity, and daily living is called "energy balance." Energy balance may help you stay a healthy weight.

Choose Healthy Foods and Drinks

Healthy eating involves taking control of how much and what types of food you eat, as well as the beverages you drink. Try to replace foods high in sugar, salt, and unhealthy fats with fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat protein foods, and fat-free or low-fat dairy foods.

Fruits and Vegetables

Make half of your plate fruits External link and vegetables External link. Dark green, red, and orange vegetables have high levels of the nutrients you need, like vitamin C, calcium, and fiber. Adding tomato and spinach—or any other available greens that you like—to your sandwich is an easy way to get more veggies in your meal.

Grains

Choose whole grains External link like whole-wheat bread, brown rice, oatmeal, and whole-grain cereal, instead of refined-grain cereals, white bread, and white rice.

Protein

Power up with low fat or lean meats like turkey or chicken, and other protein-rich foods External link, such as seafood, egg whites, beans, nuts, and tofu.

Dairy External link

Build strong bones External link with fat-free or low-fat milk products. If you can't digest lactose—the sugar in milk that can cause stomach pain or gas—choose lactose-free milk or soy milk with added calcium. Fat-free or low-fat yogurt is also a good source of dairy food.

Healthy Eating Tips

♦ Try to limit foods like cookies, candy, frozen desserts, chips, and fries, which often have a lot of sugar, unhealthy fat, and salt.

♦ For a quick snack, try recharging with a pear, apple, or banana; a small bag of baby carrots; or hummus with sliced veggies.

♦ Don't add sugar to your food and drinks.

♦ Drink fat-free or low-fat milk and avoid sugary drinks. Soda, energy drinks, sweet tea, and some juices have added sugars, a source of extra calories.

Fats

Fat is an important part of your diet. Fat helps your body grow and develop, and may even keep your skin and hair healthy. But fats have more calories per gram than protein or carbs, and some are not healthy.

Some fats, such as oils that come from plants and are liquid at room temperature, are better for you than other fats. Foods that contain healthy oils include avocados, olives, nuts, seeds, and seafood such as salmon and tuna fish.

Solid fats such as butter, stick margarine, and lard, are solid at room temperature. These fats often contain saturated and trans fats, which are not healthy for you. Other foods with saturated fats include fatty meats, and cheese and other dairy products made from whole milk. Take it easy on foods like fried chicken, cheeseburgers, and fries, which often have a lot of saturated and trans fats. Options to consider include a turkey sandwich with mustard or a lean-meat, turkey, or veggie burger.

Did you know?

Many teens need more of these nutrients:

Calcium, to build strong bones and teeth. Good sources of calcium are fat-free or low-fat milk, yogurt, and cheese.

Vitamin D, to keep bones healthy. Good sources of vitamin D include orange juice, whole oranges, tuna, and fat-free or low-fat milk.

Potassium, to help lower blood pressure. Try a banana, or baked potato with the skin, for a potassium boost.

Fiber, to help you stay regular and feel full.

Good sources of fiber include beans and celery.protein, to power you up and help you grow strong.

Peanut butter; eggs; tofu; legumes, such as lentils and peas; and chicken, fish, and low-fat meats are all good sources of protein.

iron, to help you grow. Red meat contains a form of iron that your body absorbs best. Spinach, beans, peas, and iron-fortified cereals are also sources of iron.

You can help your body absorb the iron from these foods better when you also eat foods with vitamin C, like an orange.

Don't skip meals

Skipping meals might seem like an easy way to lose weight, but it actually may lead to weight gain if you eat more later to make up for it. Even if you're really busy with school and activities, it's important to try not to skip meals. Follow these tips to keep your body charged up all day and to stay healthy:

Eat breakfast every day. Breakfast helps your body get going. If you're short on time in the morning, grab something to go, like an apple or banana.

Pack your lunch on school days. Packing your lunch may help you control your food and beverage portions and increases the chances that you will eat it because you made it.

Eat dinner with your family. When you eat home-cooked meals with your family, you are more likely to consume healthy foods.

Having meals together also gives you a chance to reconnect with each other and share news about your day.

Get involved in grocery shopping and meal planning at home.

Going food shopping and planning and preparing meals with family members or friends can be fun.

Not only can you choose a favorite grocery store, and healthy foods and recipes, you also have a chance to help others in your family eat healthy too.

Physical health: Taking care of your body

♥ Exercise regularly. Teens should be physically active at least 60 minutes of every day.

♥ Eat a healthy diet. Healthy eating is an important part of your growth and development.

♥ Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, a variety of protein foods, and low-fat dairy products.

♥ Maintain a healthy weight. Children and teenagers with obesity are more likely to have obesity as an adult.

♥ They are also at higher risk for other chronic illnesses, depression, and bullying.

♥ Get enough sleep. Most teens need between 9 and 9 ½ hours of sleep every night.

♥ Many average only 7 hours. Sleep has a strong effect on your ability to concentrate and do well at school.

♥ Keep up with vaccinations. Get a flu shot every year. If you haven't gotten the HPV vaccine, ask your parents and doctor about it.

♥ It can prevent you from getting HPV and some kinds of cancer, including cervical cancer.

♥ Brush and floss your teeth. Make it a habit now, and prevent tooth and gum problems in adulthood.

♥ Wear sunscreen. Getting just one bad sunburn as a child or teenager increases your risk of getting skin cancer as an adult.

♥ Don't listen to loud music. This can damage your hearing for the rest of your life.

Emotional health: Taking care of your feelings

Know the signs of mental illness.

These include:

♦ anxiety

♦ depression

♦ excessive tiredness

♦ loss of self-esteem

♦ loss of interest in things you used to like

♦ loss of appetite

♦ weight gain or loss

♦ out-of-character personality changes

♦ Pay attention to your moods and feelings.

♦ Don't assume your negative thoughts or feelings are just part of being a teenager.

♦ If you're worried about something, ask for help.

♦ Don't be afraid to ask for help if you need it.

♦ If you can't talk to your parents, talk to a favorite teacher or counselor at school.

♦ Find an adult you can trust. If you're feeling really sad or are thinking about harming yourself, get help right away.

♦ Accept yourself. If you feel like you have low self-esteem or a poor body image, talk to someone about it.

♦ Even just talking to a friend can help.

♦ Don't bully other people. And if you are being bullied, tell a parent, teacher, or other adult.

♦ This includes being bullied online or on your phone.

Behavioral health: Taking care of your safety through your behaviors

− Avoid substance use or abuse.

− This includes alcohol, street drugs, other people's prescription drugs, and any type of tobacco product.

− Drive safely. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death in U.S. teenagers.

− Always use your seat belt. Avoid riding in a car full of other teenagers. This can distract the driver and make an accident more likely. Never get in a car with a driver who has been drinking.

− Wear protective headgear. Wear a helmet when you are riding a bike or participating in sports to prevent concussions. Concussions at a young age can have lifelong negative effects on your health.

− Avoid violence. Stay away from situations where violence or fighting may cause you to be physically injured.

− Practice abstinence (no sex) or safe sex. If you have sex, always use condoms to help avoid sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

− If you are a sexually active girl, talk to your doctor about contraceptives. If you can't use contraceptives, use condoms for birth control. Even if you can use contraceptives, these do not prevent STIs; use condoms in addition to other contraceptive methods.

What might my doctor do if I go see him or her?

• The doctor might do any of the following to help you stay healthy:

• Determine your risk for certain health problems.

• Measure your height, weight, and blood pressure.

• Give advice about healthy lifestyle choices, like diet and activity.

• Provide immunizations (shots or vaccines) to reduce your risk of getting diseases. These could include meningitis, tetanus, or HPV.