Teen Health

Features Related to Teen Health

41. The Teen Guy's Guide to Gaining Muscle
    

    The football players, pro wrestlers, and MMA fighters you see on television may be packing serious muscle. But if you’re a guy in your teens, you have some body-building advantages they would love to have. During your teen years, you’re in a phase of your life when your body wants to grow. You’re ch

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42. Smoke Signals: What Your Cigarette Says About You
    

    About a million years ago—like, in the 60s and 70s—smoking was supposed to make you seem cool, sophisticated, and worldly. That image is total history. In movies and TV shows today it’s almost always the bad guy that smokes, not the hero. Today smoking doesn’t say “I’m cool.” Instead it gives off th

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43. Why We Get Periods
    

    My patient Jolie had heard it all in health class and even from her mother. But she still wasn’t totally clear on why we get periods. So I gave her the CliffsNotes version. At puberty the brain starts sending chemical signals to your body, via estrogen and other hormones, saying it’s time to get dow

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44. Slim Chances: The Risks of Being Too Thin
    

    My patient Cindy had always been a star student, but when she turned thirteen, the stress of adolescence became too much for her. Her parents were splitting up, and Cindy’s mother was struggling with self-esteem issues. She constantly criticized both herself and Cindy for not looking their best. Mea

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45. Your Healthy Weight: Body Mass Index
    

      With more body types than car models out there, it’s not always obvious what a healthy weight might be. So doctors look at the ratio of your height and weight, then compare it to other people like you to see if you’re in the healthy zone. This system is called the Body Mass Index. It’s an easy cal

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46. The Pill: Myths and Facts
    

      My patient Lori wasn’t having much luck with the prescription-strength NSAID drug or the complementary remedies she tried, so I suggested oral hormones. She hesitated. “This’ll sound dumb,” she told me, “but I really don’t want to gain weight.” “Don’t worry, that’s just a myth,” I told her. Lori’s

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47. The New Basics of Birth Control
    

      If you remember nothing else, remember this: If you don’t use birth control, you are very likely to get pregnant. Every year 85 percent of women who have sex without using birth control get pregnant, according to Planned Parenthood. This is like playing Russian roulette. It’s not cool and it’s ver

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48. Suffering is Out: What You Can Do
    

      Even in normal periods, your monthly cycle can affect a lot more than your uterus and vagina. Some symptoms are easy to explain. Cramps, for instance, happen because your uterus contracts when it sheds its lining (called the endometrium)—similar to the way it contracts during labor. No wonder it h

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49. Period Problems
    

      It’s a rare woman who gets through her life without a cramp, pain, or other period problem. Cramps, aches, irregular bleeding, and other menstrual issues are the top reasons that new teenage patients come to see me. I tell them that most period problems start with hormones, which affect your whole

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50. Talking to Your Boyfriend: Practice Makes Perfect
    

    One of the best tips I give my patients who want to delay sexual activity— but aren’t sure how to resist temptation—is to be prepared. Anticipate the obstacles that may pop up in your path and make a firm plan to deal with them. Preparation is key. Your plan might be as simple as figuring out how to

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