Teenagers go through many physical, mental and emotional changes, and adolescence is the ideal time to adopt healthy lifestyle behaviors to prevent chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, osteoporosis, stroke and certain types of cancer. Common adolescent medical conditions often require treatment from a health care professional.
Acne
The American Academy of Dermatology states that, each year, 85 percent of American teenagers will have acne. Acne often manifests in the early teen years, when the body's oil glands start producing more sebum or oil. In teens with acne, dead skin cells combine with the excess sebum to plug hair follicles in the skin, and bacteria that grow in the hair follicles can further irritate a teenager's skin. When a hair follicle is plugged with oil and skin cells, a whitehead develops. When a hair follicle is plugged near the skin's surface and is exposed to air, a blackhead develops. Contrary to popular belief, a blackhead is not caused by dirt. When the wall of a plugged hair follicle ruptures near the skin's surface, the area swells and becomes a red bump and may become a pimple. If the wall ruptures deep in the skin, cystic acne may develop. The Family Doctor website notes that acne may occur more often in boys than girls.
Depression
According to the Teen Depression website, 10 to 15 percent of American teenagers experience some symptoms of teen depression at any one time. Depression can be a temporary response to numerous situations and stress, and a depressed mood is common in teens due to the normal maturation process, the stress associated with growth and development, the effects of sex hormones, skewed perceptions of body image and conflicts with parents. A prolonged depressed mood in teenagers may be an involuntary reaction to a disturbing event, including the death of a friend or family member, a breakup with a boyfriend or girlfriend or a perceived academic or athletic failure. Many teenagers have low self-esteem, are self-critical and feel disempowered, and this triad of factors may predispose teenagers to depression when they experience a stressful life event.
Anorexia Nervosa
Anorexia nervosa is a relatively common adolescent medical condition, especially in young women. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry states that 10 percent of young women suffer from an eating disorder, including anorexia nervosa. Anorexia nervosa, or simply anorexia, is a serious, sometimes long-term and potentially life-threatening eating disorder characterized by a refusal to keep body weight within 15 percent of a person's normal weight. Other characteristics of anorexia include the following: an intense fear of weight gain, a skewed perception of body image, denial of the condition's seriousness and the absence of menstrual periods in women. Like all eating disorders, anorexia is most common in teenagers, although it can develop at any point throughout a person's lifespan, and younger women are especially susceptible to anorexia due to their desire to achieve an ideal figure. The National Alliance on Mental Illness believes that the obsessive dieting behavior that accompanies anorexia is a reflection of societal pressures to be thin and therefore worthy of love and adoration.
