990855 Teenagers Likely To Outgrow Healthy LifestylesAugust 28, 1999Philadelphia - As children enter their teens, they seem to forget or disregard the healthier ways of their earlier years, according to a recent CIGNA “Be Healthy, Be Fit” family health and wellness survey conducted among middle and high school students. The survey is part of a Newspapers in Education pilot program, sponsored by CIGNA in cooperation with daily newspapers in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Tampa, Phoenix and Hartford. “It's so important that students learn about current health trends,” said Elaine Koziak, Newspapers in Education director for the Philadelphia Inquirer. “Newspapers can provide a great teaching tool to help students learn the importance of health and wellness.” Newspapers in Education is an industry-wide program that encourages using newspapers in the classroom to help students develop a lifelong interest in reading. Under CIGNA's “Be Healthy, Be Fit” curriculum, teachers use newspaper news articles and ads about health and fitness to help students identify and analyze healthy lifestyles, then develop healthier ways for themselves and their families. In addition to the classroom work, program materials include a home action plan and healthy foods guide to encourage students and their parents to achieve healthy goals together. Based on the pilot's success, the “Be Healthy, Be Fit” initiative could expand to schools across the country. Younger is Healthier In CIGNA's take-home survey, 3,000 students answered questions about their families regarding nutrition, exercise and safety. In general, the younger children, ages 9 to 12, reported healthier diets, more physical activities and greater attention to safety than did the 13 to 19 year-old students. Specific findings include: Pre-teens include more vegetables, fruit and milk in their diets, while teens consume more meat; Substantially more teens, particularly girls, consider themselves overweight than do pre-teens; Pre-teens are more likely to engage in physical activity and exercise than teens; Pre-teens consider using safety gear for recreation more often than do teenagers; Three-quarters of pre-teens use sunscreen and/or wear protective clothing compared to less than half of the teens; Teens watch more television than pre-teens, with teenaged boys spending the most time in front of the screen; and While nearly half of all students spent from one to three hours playing computer games, usage peaked at age 14 with more than five hours per week. Teenagers Aren't Getting the Message According to William Popik, M.D., senior vice president, CIGNA HealthCare, “It's disturbing that due to peer pressure, less parental supervision and adolescents' perception of their own invincibility, children are un-doing some of the positive habits they develop early in life. This survey confirms widely held beliefs that there's work to be done among our youth to help ensure a future healthy lifestyle.” Popik said that poor nutritional habits can lead to obesity and high blood pressure; lack of exercise can foster heart disease; and disregarding safety can result in accidents, the leading cause of death among young people according to the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics. Parents Should Set Examples “As a society, we're setting the stage for some long-term negative health consequences,” added Popik. “Parents should set examples for children and stay actively involved in their lives during their developmental stage. “As children get more freedom with age, parents should make sure they are making the right choices in terms of nutrition, exercise and safety awareness,” he said. “A good place to start is controlling the amount of junk food a child eats, creating the expectation of regular exercise and requiring the use of proper safety equipment during recreational activities such as biking or rollerblading.”
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