Youth health topics

The core contradiction in the current field of youth health has never been a single problem of myopia, obesity or high incidence of depression. Instead, the public has always narrowed "health" to "no physical disease + meeting academic standards", ignoring the interlocking influence of physiology, psychology, and social adaptability. This is the root cause of most youth health problems.

Last week, when I was working as a volunteer in community child care, I met a boy in the third grade of junior high school. He was 1.78 meters tall and weighed almost 180 pounds. His physical examination showed that his alanine aminotransferase was excessive and he already had mild fatty liver. The first sentence his parents said when they took the report sheet was not to ask whether they should intervene, but to chase the doctor and ask, "He's just a little fat, right?" As long as it doesn’t affect the physical education exam for next month’s high school entrance exam.” I stood by and listened a little helplessly. This is also a common problem among many parents: as long as it doesn't delay learning, it doesn't matter.

There have been two distinct voices in the industry when it comes to teen weight management. Most researchers in the field of public health advocate strict control, such as requiring a ban on the sale of high-sugar and high-fat "50-cent foods" around campus, including BMI index in the overall quality evaluation of students, and even suggesting interviewing parents of overweight students. However, most practitioners in the field of adolescent psychology are opposed to this one-size-fits-all approach. A counselor I know who does eating disorder intervention said that she received 37 adolescent cases last year, and nearly one-third of them were because the school and parents repeatedly told them "you are too fat and need to lose weight." Eventually, they induced vomiting and dieting, which led to metabolic disorders. The most serious case was a high school sophomore girl who was 1.65 meters tall and lost 72 pounds. She had stopped menstruating for almost a year and could not even climb stairs.

Many parents do not realize that compared to visible indicators of weight and vision, psychological problems are often hidden deeper and more easily misunderstood. There are two extremes in psychological intervention for teenagers. One is to classify all emotional problems as "hypocrisy" and "make excuses for not wanting to learn." Last year, I met a little boy in the first grade of junior high school. He was bullied in the toilet for more than three months by his classmates. When he came home and said he didn't want to go to school, his father slapped him and said, "Why do others bully you instead of bullying others?" If you study hard, who will cause trouble for you?" After half a year of delay, the child refused to even eat. When he went to the hospital, he was already suffering from severe depression. The other extreme is to use "depression" as a universal label. If a child fails to pass the emo test for two or three days at a time, the parents will rush to prescribe antidepressants. Instead, they will give the child a strong psychological hint: I am a patient and I am not normal.

Oh, by the way, there are still many people who completely ignore the health dimension of "social adaptability", which is also a core indicator clearly listed in the definition of health by the WHO. Simply put, it means whether a child can interact with others normally and integrate into the group. A while ago, a mother came to me for consultation. She said that her child, who is in the fourth grade of elementary school, usually forgets to eat when she is watching short videos on her mobile phone at home. When she goes out to meet relatives and friends, she doesn’t even say hello, or she opens her mouth like a bad Internet meme, asking me if I am "socially afraid." There is a fierce debate about whether teenagers can use electronic products. One group says that it must be completely banned, otherwise children will be ruined by short videos. The other group says that today is a digital society, and mobile phones are not allowed to be used at all. Children will not be able to catch up with the jokes, and will be easily isolated. I met a fifth-grade boy before. In order to let him concentrate on his studies, his parents dismantled the TV at home and locked up all his mobile phones and computers. As a result, the child went to a classmate's birthday party. Everyone was talking about the recently popular animation, and he couldn't get in a word. He cried for a long time when he came back and said that he was an "extraordinary".

I have been working on adolescent health for almost 8 years. To be honest, there are really no health standards that are universally applicable. You say you need to control your weight, but some children are born with large frames and have excessive BMI but low body fat percentage. You can't force them to lose weight to the standard line, right? You say you want to ban mobile phones. Some children have found their interests through online programming classes. You can't kill them all at once, right? Health is a very personal matter. Instead of staring at the numbers on the physical examination form or the scores on the test paper, it is better to ask your children if they are happy today, if they have encountered anything interesting, and if they want to eat something. After all, being able to eat, sleep, do the things you like, and feel comfortable with the people around you is the true meaning of health.