Physical Activity
Regular physical activity improves strength, builds lean muscle, and decreases body fat. It can build stronger bones to last a lifetime.
Teens should get at least 60 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity most days of the week, preferably every day.
You can choose any type of moderate or higher intensity physical activity, such as brisk walking, playing tag, jumping rope, or swimming, as long as it is adds up to at least one hour a day. If you are just starting to exercise start slowly and gradually build up to prevent injuries or feeling like it is too hard.
The VERB NOW website has fun ideas on how you and your friends can be more active. It even has "Pro Tips" on improving your skills at your favorite sports. So grab some friends and get moving!
Nutrition
These nutrition guidelines, developed by the Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, represent the best, most current advice for healthy Americans 2 years and older. They reflect recommendations of health and nutrition experts to encourage certain eating practices. Learn about the seven Dietary Guidelines.
It is also important to understand portion sizes of the foods we choose. Learning to read the food labels will help us understand what we are eating. Learn more about portion sizes and reading food labels.
The USDA has developed a tool, MyPyramid Tracker, that provides information on your diet quality, physical activity status, related nutrition messages and links to nutrient and physical activity information.
Energy In and Energy Out - Your nutritional choices, along with physical activity, can help you establish and maintain a healthy weight. Balancing the energy (calories) you take in with the energy you use will maintain your healthy weight. To lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you take in. Learn more about
balancing your energy.
Fruits and Vegetables - Fruits and Vegetables are part of a well-balanced and healthy eating plan.
5 A Day for Better Health is a national program shows the importance of eating fruits and veggies and helps you increase the number of daily servings of fruits and vegetables you eat to five or more. The 5 A Day program provides easy ways to add more fruits and vegetables into your daily eating patterns. Try these
recipes that incorporate fruits and vegetables from 5 A Day for Better Health.
Source: CDC
Being Tobacco Free!! What You Should Know about Tobacco
Tobacco and Athletic Performance
- Don’t get trapped. Nicotine in cigarettes, cigars, and spit tobacco is addictive.
- Nicotine narrows your blood vessels and puts added strain on your heart.
- Smoking can wreck lungs and reduce oxygen available for muscles used during sports.
- Smokers suffer shortness of breath (gasp!) almost 3 times more often than nonsmokers.
- Smokers run slower and can’t run as far, affecting overall athletic performance.
- Cigars and spit tobacco are NOT safe alternatives.
Tobacco and Personal Appearance
- Yuck! Tobacco smoke can make hair and clothes stink.
Tobacco stains teeth and causes bad breath.
- Short-term use of spit tobacco can cause cracked lips, white spots, sores, and bleeding in the mouth.
- Surgery to remove oral cancers caused by tobacco use can lead to serious changes in the face. Sean Marcee, a high school star athlete who used spit tobacco, died of oral cancer when he was 19 years old.
SO......
- Know the truth. Despite all the tobacco use on TV and in movies, music videos, billboards and magazines – most teens, adults, and athletes DON’T use tobacco.
- Make friends, develop athletic skills, control weight, be independent, be cool ... play sports.
- Don’t waste (burn) money on tobacco. Spend it on CD’s, clothes, computer games, and movies.
- Get involved: make your team, school, and home tobacco-free; teach others; join community efforts to prevent tobacco use.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Office on Smoking and Health
Here are some facts you should know about teen tobacco use from CDC.
Take this quiz to see how much you know about tobacco!
General Health Websites
TeensHealth was created for teens looking for honest, accurate information and advice about health, relationships, and growing up. They offer a safe, private place that's accessible 24 hours a day to get the doctor-approved info you need to understand the changes that you (or your friends) may be going through - and to make educated decisions about your life. There's a lot of confusing, misleading, and just plain wrong health information on the Web - TeensHealth's mission is to tell it to you straight.
GirlsHealth.gov was created to help girls (ages 10-16) learn about health, growing up, and issues they may face. It focuses on health topics that girls are concerned about and helps motivate them to choose healthy behaviors by using positive, supportive, and non-threatening messages. The site gives girls reliable, useful information on the health issues they will face as they become young women and tips on handling relationships with family and friends, at school and at home.