Taking Charge of Your Health
Chapter 1: Lesson 3
Opening Task
• List the choices YOU have made in the last few days that have
affected your health. Identify how each choice affected your physical,
mental/emotional, or social well being.
Risk Factors and Teens
• Risk Factors – actions or behaviors that represent a potential health threat.
• Becoming an adult means being aware of, and avoiding, potential risk
factors that could affect your health.
• Centers for Disease and Control (CDC) surveyed 16,000 student from 151
schools across the nation. The six categories or personal health factors
covered include:
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Tobacco use
Alcohol and other drug use
Sexual behaviors
Unhealthy eating behaviors
Physical inactivity
Behaviors that contribute to unintentional and intentional injuries
Examining Your Habits & Other Behaviors
• One finding of the CDC survey revealed 36% of the 16,000 students
smoked cigarettes.
• Another 15% admitted to being in a physical fight during the previous
year.
• As we continue through this chapter and others, reflect and apply
what is being introduced. Are YOU making decisions with your health
and well-being in mind?
Cumulative Risks
• Cumulative risks are risks that increase gradually and may add up to a
total that is greater than expected.
• Examples: sunburn, smoking, drinking, tanning, diet, inactivity, etc.
• Combination cumulative risks are risk factors whose impact is more
serious when combined with another risk factor.
• Examples: speeding/no seat belt, smoking/drinking, drinking/driving,
texting/driving, inactivity/poor diet.
Taking Responsibility for the Health of Others
• Taking responsibility for your own health includes showing concern
for the health of others.
• As an adult, you are expected to behave as a responsible and
productive citizen.
• This includes having a concern for the welfare of the community and a
respect for public property and for the property of others.
Protective Factors
• The people around you – parents, teachers, amongst others – can help you
become a successful adult.
• As proactive factors increase the amount of risk-taking behaviors decreases
and the chances of growing up as a healthy, caring, and responsible adult
increase (support and encouragement – social health).
• Positive Role Models – Who do you look up to? These people inspire you
to work harder, look toward the future, and choose healthful behaviors. By
being a positive role model, you can inspire other around you.
• Positive Values – values are beliefs and standards of conduct that you find
important. Honesty, integrity, courage, loyalty, hard work, etc. Family is the
earliest source. Define right and wrong.
Abstinence in Your Health
• Abstinence – voluntarily choosing not to do something.
• Tobacco, alcohol, drugs, sex, etc.
• Responsible teens abstain from risky behaviors.
• Although you may not relate your present actions to how they will
affect you in the future, it is important to remember that the
behaviors you practice now are setting the stage for the health of the
adult you will become.