Common Adolescent Health Problems and Prevention

Everyone faces health problems in his or her life. Adolescence is a period of transition from childhood to adulthood and during this period social, cultural, biological changes affect the transition which can create some serious health issues. Around 22% population of India is between 10-19 years age category. It is found that major health problems in adolescence are regarding nutritional disorders i.e. malnutrition and obesity. Let us take a look at some common teens’ health problems.

Common Teenage Health Problems:

• Mental Health

  As per WHO, depression is the third leading cause of disability and illness in teenagers. There are lots of factors that could cause problems in mental health. Violence, feeling devalued and depression are some reasons behind teenage mental health issues. The years 10-19 are crucial points in their lives and the teenagers should receive proper mental support in tender age.

• Obesity and Malnutrition

  These are exactly opposite concepts yet they are found in adolescents. This sort of problem is mostly found in developing countries where teenagers are undernourished and more exposed to diseases. On the contrary, many teenagers are facing the issue of being obese.

• Violence

  It is seen that in older adolescents, violence is one of the leading causes of deaths. Mostly male adolescents face the problem of violence; however it is seen that 1 in 10 girls who are approximate of 20 years undergo sexual abuse which is a serious factor. The primary reason behind the violence is hormonal changes which cause aggression in teenagers. The increased aggression leads to violence, disturbing life, education, career and sometimes ultimately death.

• HIV

  HIV is a life-threatening disease and a very grave health issue among adolescents. Prevalence of factors like unsafe sex, growing impact of drugs, use of already used needles, HIV accounted from parents to child transmission lead to increasing occurrence of HIV in teenagers.

Tips to Manage Teenage Health Issues:

Though we can see all of these are severe health problems in teenagers, yet it can be controlled with proper management. Here are some tips to combat issues related to teenage health and wellness:

• The adolescents suffering from mental health issues can always take help of psychiatrists where they can find appropriate psychological support. The life building skills, programs to strengthen the bond with parents, can help the adolescents to deal with these issues.
• Ensuring nutritional diet and daily exercise can help the adolescents to deal with malnutrition and obesity.
• Providing effective life support to survivors of violence can heal them recovering from such disastrous issues.
• Adolescent health check up has become essential today as it evaluates the teenagers’ physical as well as mental health and they can get necessary guidance to stay healthy.