A Canadian study found that 14 percent of adolescent boys and 20 percent of girls rate their health as "poor."

Researchers from Queen's University in Ontario used data on 2,384 students in the 9th and 10th grades to determine what factors influence teen health and what government programs could improve it. They found that teen health was a complex interaction between factors such as risk taking, family income and the degree to which an individual teen connects to others.

Low-income teens were twice as likely as their more affluent peers to engage in risky behavior including taking drugs, smoking tobacco, using alcohol, and not using seat belts or condoms.

"Our analysis actually states that social capital, affluence, and risk taking all influence health, but these things do not work together," said the study's author, Owen Gallupe. "To improve adolescent health, programs should reduce risk taking [and] improve social capital and levels of affluence."

This study appears in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

Labels: health, income, research

A Harvard Medical School study linked the consumption of above-average amounts of red meat during adolescence with an increased likelihood of developing breast cancer as an adult.

Dr. Linda Frazier and her colleagues examined reports of food consumption from 38,268 pre-menopausal women who reported how often they had eaten red meat - including beef, pork, lamb, and processed meats such as hot dogs or bacon - when they were adolescents.

Women who reported eating more than two and a half servings per day (262 grams or more) had a 34 percent greater chance of developing breast cancer than did those who ate less than one serving. The kind of red meat did not matter. The average consumption was 68 grams per day.

"This study adds considerable evidence to the established adverse effect of red meat," Dr. Frazier said.

The work appears in the journal Cancer Epidemiology.

Labels: cancer, girls, healthy_eating

Legislation that was passed in 2007 will result in weight and body mass indices (BMI) being collected from students throughout the state of New York. Doctors will test the students when they come in for their student health certificates.

"The information will be reported to schools, creating a set of data that will allow health officials to evaluate obesity levels based on geography... The data will be passed on to the state Department of Health unless parents ask to have the information excluded."

A 2004 survey of New York's third-graders found that more than 20 percent were obese. New York is one of 13 states that tracks the BMI of its students. Source: Associated Press

Labels: body_mass_index, legislation

What do you do when your child seems to be hooked on unhealthy foods and is at risk of becoming obese? Adjusting a child's eating habits is far easier when he is young.

"Make sure you have a bowl of bananas, apples, plums and whatever other fruits you can find sitting on the table or counter in your kitchen. Do the same with vegetables. Cut them in sticks and make a great low-fat dip for them to dunk their vegetables into."

Cut back on things like soda and high-fat/high-calorie snacks such as potato chips and pizza. Remember that you're helping your child set eating habits that will last a lifetime. Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Labels: habits, parents, role_models

The value of eating fruits and vegetables has been touted for generations. But new scientific research is finding that fruits and vegetables are more than just an excellent source of vitamins.

"We've moved beyond seeing fruits and vegetables as rich sources of essential vitamins and now are beginning to understand the roles and complexity of compounds such as antioxidants and the literally hundreds of phytochemicals that interact to influence health and nutrition."

Antioxidants protect the body against "free radicals," harmful molecules that are linked to higher rates of cancer, heart disease, and other illnesses. Source: Enid News & Eagle (OK)

Labels: healthy_eating, heart_disease, nutrition