YAPA young people topics: Health

YAPA resources

Health fact sheet (PDF)
ACTivate report on consultations with 500 NSW young people about health and other issues (PDF)

Puberty brain explosion: When sweet children change overnight into disorganised & disruptive adolescents it is usually explained as a rite of passage. Now Sydney research reveals brain function may deteriorate during puberty, as hormonal surges wreak havoc on key circuitry. smh.com.au 15/11/06
Caught 'tween childhood and peer pressure: Children are getting older at a younger age, especially tweens, aged 10-12: not quite teenagers yet no longer children. smh.com.au 21/9/06
Teenage sleep: Understanding and helping the sleep of 12 - 20 year olds: New (free) ebook: psychological/ psychiatric problems and sleep, night fears, wet dreams, scary dreams, sleep deprivation, snoring, needing too much sleep, sleep drunkenness, sleep walking, feelings of restless legs, being paralysed, midnight binge eating, hallucinations, the meaning of dreams ... vu.edu.au 7/8/06

Unsafe sex drives HIV infection rate to 10-year high: New HIV diagnoses are at their highest in a decade and rates of chlamydia have increased fourfold - people of all sexual orientations are practising safe sex less often. smh.com.au 12/10/06
Young women travelling interstate for abortion services: Teenagers are more likely than older women to have travelled more than 100 kilometres to have an abortion. Some claim there are no services in their area, while others are concerned about privacy in country towns. abc.net.au/news 14/8/06

Anorexia begins at five: Children as young as 5 are being diagnosed with anorexia as experts blame stress and a national obsession with obesity for a shocking rise in the number of NSW youth being treated for the illness smh.com.au 26/11/06
Boys taught a winning health habit: High school students who don't exercise or play sport will be urged to do yoga, Pilates and boxing as part of a Government initiative to introduce them to a healthy lifestyle. smh.com.au 26/11/06
Stick-thin models to move over: Waif-like models could be replaced in fashion magazines by "real-sized" women under plans for a media code of conduct to curb rising rates of eating disorders among the young. smh.com.au 26/10/06
Tight tops reflect the fashion industry's relentless grip: A young woman possessed of a fine pair of breasts must wear a tight, low-cut top... But a backlash is appearing, from young Muslim women. smh.com.au 12/10/06
Unlikely ally eases junk food shame: Though maligned by anti-globalisation activists and conscientious parents alike, bioethicist Peter Singer says McDonald's may not be so bad after all. smh.com.au 12/10/06
* Know your meat, says fast-food activist smh.com.au 26/9/06

Daggy or daring, girls fear the gear: What to wear? The sexy tight lycra of some netballers, the skimpy swimsuit of beach volleyball or the drab polyester of the bowls competitions? Such extreme examples are apparently turning off women, especially teenagers, from some sports. smh.com.au 8/9/06
New goal for female sport: A Senate committee has recommended the Government spend $9 million to promote media coverage of women's sport. smh.com.au 7/9/06 * About time! Women in sport and recreation in Australia Senate report aph.gov.au 6/9/06
Soft-drink makers fight back with sugar-coated science: It is only early days in the public health battle over obesity, but some aspects are beginning to mimic the long fight against the tobacco industry. smh.com.au 7/9/06
Women's sighs matter in fitting room: When it comes to dress sizes, women speak as one: there is no such thing as a standard size 12. smh.com.au 2/9/06

Obesity game plan short of a few fields: Sydney is experiencing a boom in the numbers of people playing organised sport... The bad news is the city now suffers from a shortage of sports fields. smh.com.au 26/8/06
All this talk about fat is unhealthy: Anorexia affects about 1 per cent of young women and kills more people than any other psychiatric illness... Negative talk around fat children is especially dangerous, as disordered eating and food obsession develops in childhood, when social rejection is tied to appearance... smh.com.au 10/8/06
Study links stress to eating disorders: Stress could help trigger the onset of eating disorders... smh.com.au 11/8/06
Beauty is still measured by thighs: How comfortable would you be with a fast-food chain providing nutrition information in biology classes? How about a beauty company lecturing teenage girls on self-image? Global skin-care giant Dove announced a partnership with the Victorian Government to hold BodyThink workshops for 5000 school students. smh.com.au 1/7/06