Topic: teenagers

These Two Teenage TED Talk Stars Will Restore Your Faith In The Next Generation

The TED conference is an annual gathering to share and celebrate “Ideas worth spreading.” It has heard luminaries and forces of nature such as Jane Goodall, Malcolm Gladwell, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and President Bill Clinton. And now, let’s add two more names to that illustrious list. You may not have heard of them yet, but you most likely will get to know them in the decades to come. Taylor Wilson and Jack Andraka made a huge splash at this year’s TED talks. And they haven’t even finished high school yet. More »

Awesome Teen Combats Cyber Bullying With Random Tweets Of Kindness

If you think you’ve lost faith in humanity, one Iowa City teenager proves that you shouldn’t. He and his friends are fighting back against cyber bullies in the simplest and most awesome way: random tweets of kindness to their classmates. It’s a story that will warm your heart and restore your hope for the future. More »

‘Hungry’ Students Pissed At Michelle Obama Over Low-Calorie Lunches

If high school students were allowed to vote, they probably wouldn’t be leaning towards President Obama right now because they are pissed at his wife. As part of her “Let’s Move” campaign aimed at getting kids healthier, Michelle Obama has supported a new plan that limits school lunches to 850 calories for high school students–an amount that is clearly not enough if you ask them. So a group of teens are protesting that decision in a video that is going viral. More »

Obesity-Induced Brain Damage: Not Just For Grown-Ups

A growing body of research has been linking obesity and ‘metabolic syndrome‘ in middle- and old-age with cognitive impairment. Now, for the first time, a study shows that obese, metabolically messed-up kids experience similar brain damage and learning and memory trouble. More »

At Seventeen, Back To School = Back To Body-Shaming

It’s back to school time, and you know what that means: back to body shaming time. For all the insecure, body-conscious teenage girls out there, Seventeen magazine comes to the rescue by telling them what’s truly important this school year: being “pretty.” Yep, forget about message like, love your body no matter what size it is or how to navigate the gross food in the cafeteria and eat healthy, Seventeen instead chooses to send the message that the way you look is what will earn you the highest grade (with the boys, of course). More »

It’s Not Just Makeovers That Convince Teen Girls To Quit Athletics

There’s a new campaign focused on keeping girls active in sports longer, but it overlooks one of the main reasons that young women drop out. Teens aren’t just worried about makeovers and high heels. Plenty of them don’t understand how athletics can help them in the future. I know, because I’m one of the girls who quit competing to make more time for academic-oriented extra-curriculars. More »

Teen Diabetes Increased Almost 300%; Why Politicians Need To Fix This

A new study just confirmed that the number of teens with diabetes today has increased almost 300%. Shocking, right? Of course, but equally as shocking is that not enough people in power are really doing anything about this. So here’s an idea for all the politicians out there vying for our election votes this fall: Instead of spending so much of your ill-informed time on women’s reproductive rights, how about focusing on something that really demands everyone’s attention–our kid’s health.
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96% Of Teen Girls Wish For A Different Body; Why Women Are To Blame

Most of us probably spent inordinate amounts of time in front of the mirror when we were teens. Trying new hairstyles, experimenting with makeup, singing into our hairbrushes. That’s a normal way of growing up and becoming comfortable with who we are and how we look. But according to a new study, most girls today are not even close to being comfortable with their appearance. In fact, 96% actually wish they had someone else’s body. That’s a statistic that is not only very dangerous for the mental and physical health of these girls, but it raises an important question: Who’s to blame?
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What A Group Of Inner-City Teens Is Teaching Me About Running

Earlier this year, I started a new nonprofit organization called Marathon High. The goal is to train high school students to run a 13.1 mile half-marathon, while also teaching them the valuable life skills that we all get from long-distance running. In a sense, it’s bringing the classroom onto the road. And with 20 years of running experience, I was sure I would be the one teaching them, but as it turns out, the students at one particular inner-city school are teaching me some pretty valuable lessons too. More »

What We're Reading:

Water: The Best Energy Drink Flows Freely From The Tap

The journal Pediatrics has published a new study, lead by Dr. Holly Benjamin of The American Academy of Pediatrics, which says energy drinks loaded with extra sugar and caffeine could prove harmful for adolescents. Brands like Mountain Dew, Red Bull, and Spike Shooter could not only cause heart rhythms, and contribute to the growing obesity epidemic, but also interact with ADHD medications, possibly leading to seizures. Many adults enjoy energy drinks during heavy athletic training, but Dr. Benjamin explains that for growing children who lead more sedentary lifestyles (and playing Xbox all day long would qualify there), parents are advised to keep the drinks that give you wings away from the kids. If I may be controversial for a moment (because I never do that…*cough), I think all energy drinks, from Red Bull to Gatorade, are a waste of money. Nature provides the best energy drink available, and it’s practically free with a turn of the faucet. More »

Sex Ed: Middle-Aged Swingers at Risk for STDs

Sex-Ed class was a magical time in our lives: Awkward stories about periods, terrifying videos of babies being born, and, of course, disgusting pictures of sexually transmitted diseases. We’d say that most teenagers are thoroughly freaked after taking that course, … More »

Why teenagers are surly: Psychology Today posits that it’s a function of dislike for one’s childhood self (for not being independent) and dislike for one’s parents (for restricting independence.)