THE TEEN HEALTH BOOK: A Parents' Guide to Adolescent Health and Well-Being

A practicing specialist in adolescent medicine and professor at Weill Medical College of Cornell University, Lopez covers key health issues affecting teenagers, such as the physical and emotional changes of puberty, eating habits, sex, sleep deprivation and more. For the most part, Lopez focuses on physical conditions and "lifestyle" concerns. He gives a comprehensive overview of teen nutrition (including a section on eating disorders), skin care and sports injuries, and the last third of the book is a head-to-toe troubleshooting guide to the most common teen complaints and ailments. Extensive chapters on drugs and alcohol explain the physical and mental effects of different substances, and advise parents on talking to their teen about drug use. Likewise, the section on sex includes detailed pros and cons of various birth control methods, and the best way for parents to guide their teens in sexual decision making. On the other hand, teenagers' emotional lives are summed up in a single brief chapter, which means that issues like depression and suicide receive only cursory treatment—perhaps insufficient given the statistics on this subject. Throughout the book are real-life scenarios from Lopez's practice, including, for instance, sample diets that show the dismal eating habits of many adolescents. Lopez's guide is a useful resource for overall health, but parents with questions about their teen's emotional well-being may need to go elsewhere. (Mar.)