teen health

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Later School Start Time Means Happier Students

Adolescents need lots of sleep, have odd body clocks

(Newser) - Starting high school classes just 30 minutes later leads to marked improvement in students' moods and even their overall health, CNN reports . Teens need 8½ to 9¼ hours of sleep a night, and biological changes associated with adolescence mean they naturally fall asleep later than younger kids. In a small...

Enquirer: Palin's Son Addicted to Painkillers

Tab claims would-be VP kicked pregnant Bristol out of house

(Newser) - Sarah Palin’s Iraq-bound 19-year-old son, Track, was addicted to the painkiller OxyContin and binged on cocaine before joining the army last year, the National Enquirer reports. The supermarket tab also claims the Alaska governor kicked 17-year-old daughter Bristol—also supposedly a party animal—out of the house and made...

Survey Reveals Abuse In Teen, Tween Dating

Of those sexually active by 14, 69% have seen physical, mental harm

(Newser) - Tween and teen dating is far from a bunch of innocent hand-holding: A survey finds 69% of teens who have had sex by 14 have suffered physical or emotional abuse in relationships, with only half of tweens knowing how to recognize a hurtful relationship. CBS reports more stats:
  • The survey
...

Want a Skinny Kid? Don't Tell Her She's Fat

Chunky teens pushed by parents to diet fare worse than peers

(Newser) - A new study of obese teens has produced a counterintuitive indication: Parents should under no circumstances tell pudgy youngsters to diet, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports. A group of teens correctly identified by parents as overweight and encouraged to diet were more likely to still be chunky 5 years later than...

Spain Opens Second Life Clinic for Teens

Virtual doctor's office welcomes those who hate the real thing

(Newser) - Spanish health officials are opening a virtual clinic in the popular online world Second Life, where they plan to advise teens who are too shy to consult flesh-and-blood doctors, the Guardian reports. It will appear as a consultation room for now, but officials hope to expand the service and eventually...

For Healthier Teens, Keep the TV in the Den

Older adolescents who watch in their bedrooms pick up bad habits with the remote

(Newser) - Older teens feeling too fit, well nourished, and smart can turn all that around with one simple move: install a TV in the bedroom. Kids 15 to 18 with a boob tube in the boudoir were twice as likely to watch 5 or more hours a day than those who...

One-Quarter of Teen Girls Have STDs
One-Quarter
of Teen Girls Have STDs
Mar 11, 2008 4:00 PM CDT

One-Quarter of Teen Girls Have STDs

Most common infection is HPV, which can cause cervical cancer

(Newser) - At least one in four teen girls in the US—that's over three million people—has a sexually transmitted disease, a new CDC study shows. By far the most common infection is the human papillomavirus, which can cause cervical cancer, the AP reports. An STD expert calls the new figures...

Teen Drinkers Mimic Parents
Teen Drinkers Mimic Parents
Feb 14, 2008 5:33 PM CST

Teen Drinkers Mimic Parents

Parents' habits have 'multifaceted influence' on children

(Newser) - Parents' drinking habits can influence those of their children, but perhaps not how you might think, a study suggests. While kids are apt to mimic boozing elders, more than one action speaks louder than words: The lax monitoring and harsh punishment that go hand in hand with alcohol abuse can...

Smoking Linked to Suicidal Thoughts

Do troubled people smoke, or does it work in reverse?

(Newser) - Young smokers think about suicide at higher rates than non-smokers, researchers have discovered. Nearly 15% of non-smokers reported suicidal thoughts, compared with 20% of casual smokers and 30% of addicted smokers, according to the study in the Journal of Affective Disorders. Researchers could not determine whether smoking was a cause...

Conservatives Wield FDA Data on HPV Vaccine

Cite health risks in opposing vaccination of teenage girls

(Newser) - A group of religious conservatives has marshalled unreleased FDA data as a weapon in the battle against  Gardasil, the new cervical cancer vaccine. The data indicates health problems in women taking the vaccine, but  drugmaker Merck and the FDA both insist that the negative effects are probably unrelated to the...

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