Health & Fitness
Teenaged Smoking, Depression, and Osteoporosis. Is there a connection?
Choices teens make now could have major health consequences later in life.
Osteoporosis is a costly health problem. Although it is primarily evident in postmenopausal women, its roots can be traced to periods of growth, including adolescence. A recent study showed that smoking and depressive symptoms in adolescent girls had a negative impact on adolescent bone growth and may lead to future low bone mass or osteoporosis and higher fracture rates in postmenopausal years.
Journal of Adolescent Health, April 2013
Perhaps an effective anti-smoking discussion with teenage girls would be to appeal to their self image. Let them know that smoking makes them more likely to have a hump in their back from osteoporosis later in life.
