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Suicide: Life and Death
By: Nery Chavez
Suicide is a very serious topic that most people
don’t like to talk about, but it is real and there are people
in the world that feel like there is no way out. Suicide has
been a rising problem among teens in recent years, according to livescience.com.
Everyone regardless of race, age, religion, and
social class, goes through hardships in their life, and
most people who do commit suicide don’t necessarily
want to die, they just want to stop hurting. As much as
75% of people show early warning signs of suicide,
which include constant mood swings, withdrawal from
social activities, sudden drop in grades or academic performance, self-harming, changes in personality and/or
appearance, and some will even hint of committing suicide, according to suicide.org.
People who feel suicidal often don’t feel safe
admitting they are hurting and wish to end their own life.
They are afraid of being labeled as “crazy” or “weak.”
Suicide is the second leading cause of death among
people 10-24 years old, according to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention. That statistic in itself
should be enough to convince schools around the nation
(even Harmony Schools) to start a suicide prevention
initiative. One idea for an initiative would be something
comparable to Red Ribbon week which is targeted to-
wards drug prevention, but in this case it would be suicide prevention.
If you or a friend are having suicidal thoughts,
just know there are outlets that can help. Such as talking to a school counselor, a close teacher, or a licensed
therapist. Most people are not aware that there is a
“National Suicide Prevention Lifeline” 1-800-273-8255
there is a trained counselor available that you can talk
to; this service is open 24/7. Another good source is
reading suicide survivor stories, which give you the perspective of someone who understands what you’re going through. You can view these stories at
www.save.org. The fact of the matter is that 1 in 5
teens in America are suicidal, according to data collected from CDC. It is shocking that young teens feel the
need to end their lives before they reach their full potential in this world. If people who committed suicide only
knew that there is more to life than pain, and that it
does get better. Suicide is NOT the answer and it
shouldn’t even be an option. Your life is worth something, even if you don’t believe it. If you ever encounter
someone going through this hardship, stand by them,
don’t let them fall.
Need
help?
Call
1-800-273-8255
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline or visit
www.suicidepreventionlifeline.com
The Obesity Epidemic
By: Zeynep Cakir
According to the Center for
Disease Control and Prevention, the
percentage of children aged 6-11
years in the United States who were
obese increased from 7% in 1980 to
nearly 18% in 2012. Similarly, the
percentage of adolescents aged 1219 years who were obese increased
from 5%to nearly 21% over the same
period.
Obesity is a condition that is
associated with having excessive
body fat. Body fat is measured by
Body Mass Index, which is easily calculated with your height and weight. If
someone has a Body Mass Index of
30 or greater, they are considered
obese. Obesity can have both immediate and long term effects on that
person’s health. Immediate effects
include the increased risk in developing pre-diabetes, high cholesterol,
high blood pressure, and bone along
with joint problems. A child who
grows up obese is likely going to be
obese when he/she becomes an
adult, therefore long term effects include increased risk to suffer from
heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and
several types of cancer. A healthy
lifestyle is the easiest way to prevent
obesity. A combination of healthy
eating and physical activity will eliminate any chance of becoming obese,
and lower the risk of disease.
Many kids and young adults
wish to start eating healthy, but just
don’t know where to begin. So the
big question is: How do you start eating healthy? The chart below created
by the Huffington Post depicts how
Source: http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/obesity/
facts.htm
many Americans have had one
drastic change in their diet since
1982. Processed foods and sweets
have moved to the top of the chart
and acquired a major significance in
American’s everyday lives.
Processed
foods
and
sweets include everything boxed,
packaged, and bagged in the middle
aisles of the supermarkets. The
easiest way to identify if a food is
processed is to look at the ingredient list. The longer the ingredient
list, the more processed the food is.
Processed foods usually contain
ingredients that you wouldn’t find in
your house and have strange scientific names. Although we can’t completely eliminate processed foods
from our diet, we can replace some
of the popular ones and curtail our
consumption with salubrious alternatives that taste just as great.
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