In the fast paced world we live in these days, I feel like sometimes we forget as adolescents and adults to remember to follow healthy choices and behaviors. We live in a society where adolescents have a Monster Energy Drink for breakfast. Everything is rush rush rush. In my opinion a great way to encourage healthy behaviors in adolescents would be to push healthy behavior ads on Facebook. If healthy behaviors were more popular I think others would follow. Since social media such as Twitter and Facebook are such utilized tools for adolescents why not push the behavior where they will see it the most?
A great way to encourage parents to get on board would be if they received a discount on health insurance cost if their child scored really well on their yearly physical. At that point the benefits would not only be for the adolescent but for the parent as well. If more High Schools had more Health classes devoted to better health decision making, that could be beneficial for students as well.
A popular fundamental web site to get adolescents to make health decisions would be to use myfitnesspal.com. This is a web site that helps you make healthier decisions and pushes you to reach goals. This is an excellent resource for anyone at any age to get on track to living a healthier life.
Elizabeth I found your idea about the health insurance discount interesting. I know some insurance companies will provide discounts to the adult policy holder if they have a healthy BMI or if they do not smoke. It would be interesting to see if they could extend such discounts for healthy children. I know I would get a discount since my boys are both skinny sticks.
ReplyDeleteIt is really true that parents can be the most influential in adolescent eating habits. Most adolescents do not cook and opt for easy but unhealthy food choices.Due to stress and time management issue from school work, they are at a crunch.I also think that teachers should encourage healthy eating habits and not to forget the media.Media has huge impact on the adolescents. Your idea about rewarding the parents based on their child's physicals.
ReplyDeleteI also agree about parents being the most influential in a child's life. I know if your parents are sedentary in their ways their children will likely be as well. And I also agree that the media and their teachers should also reinforce an active life style. Your ideas for a discount for healthy children is a great idea but it would be based on what your definition of a "healthy" child is. I know that by having a child myself insurance and you can differ on what a healthy child is...such as if you define healthy as in heart rate and body ratio...but health in general...say my child has asthma, would she still be considered healthy? Of course that's just another debate but a good idea in my book. I wonder if anyone else has thought of this before?
ReplyDeleteElizabeth,
ReplyDeleteYour idea to give the parents incentives for keeping their kids healthy is great. On one hand, you'd think it would be a no brainer for parents to keep chemicals and harmful substances out of their children's bodies. On the other hand though, we do live in a fast-paced society where convenience is always the number one priority. Most parents are probably unaware of how the future health of their children is being damaged because they are simply uneducated on the matter. Placing healthier ads in kids direct line of sight, as well as implementing programs in their schools would also be beneficial. Most children learn by example, and parents changing their own lifestyles is key to helping lead children towards a healthier future.
Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. You said everything is in rush,rush,rush that so true. Everybody is in rush in this modern world so healthy behaviors in adolescents should be encourage with the help of social media. Since social media such as Instagram and Facebook are so popular in adolescents.
Hi Elizabeth! I think your idea was really interesting. By plugging healthy living into social media sites it could actually have a positive impact on adolescents. It's definitely true that kids are constantly plugged into some type of electronic these days. I know I'm guilty of it! Think there may be some good that would come from getting our media involved with our society's growing health initiative. Great idea!
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