The State of Health of Today's Teens
Editorial By: Moriah Fallaise
The state of health of today's teens is slowly getting worse. Teen's are eating too much fast food and not exercising enough. "In 1978, only 15% of children were overweight or obese. By 2007, Statistics Canada found that 29% of adolescents had unhealthy weights. Most adolescents do not outgrow this problem and in fact, many continue to gain excess weight. If current trends continue, by 2040, up to 70% of adults aged 40 years will be either overweight or obese4. " (Childhood Obesity Foundation) This is saddening. Children should not be progressively getting worse as the years go on. They should be looking at how they can improve to be a better generation.
Perfection has also become a large influence that society has put on todays teens. Teens are pressured into having that "perfect" body, having the "perfect" clothes, and have that "perfect" boyfriend or girlfriend. Especially with all of this social media perfection is not only pressured but expected. The truth is no one is perfect and no one will ever be perfect. Everyone is beautiful in their own way.
Going back to the exercising, it is said that children and teens need atleast 60 minutes a day of physical activity. Most of todays teens are not getting this, instead they are on their phones, watching tv or playing video games. Teens need to be encouraged to get some fresh air or throw a football around.
Dear Moriah,
How can I learn to feel more comfortable and confident in my own skin?
-Body Hater
Dear Body Hater,
Body confidence, that's a tough subject. I feel like we live in a society that puts too much emphasis on “perfection.” There is no perfection. I'd love to know how many magazine photos that are airbrushed to hide all of the models imperfections. The reality is that we're all human. I am what I am and that's all that I am. So are you.
-Sincerely Moriah