Physical and nutritional fitness are in the media spotlight and for good reason. Both help to fight against obesity. As important as they are to adolescent's health, so, too, are social and emotional fitness. Taken together, all four areas of fitness (physical, nutritional, social, and emotional) are necessary for the optimal wellness that leads to living enjoyable, fulfilling lives. I suggest using literacy as a catalyst for moving toward optimal wellness and offer these five suggestions:
- Use adolescents' interest in technology to learn more about the importance of physical activity and nutrition. Two helpful websites for parents and adolescents are www.actionforhealthykids.org andwww.choosemyplate.gov.
- Capitalize on adolescent's belonging needs by teaching them how to use social skills to recognize and combat bullying behaviors. Give them some know-how by providing books such as Jay McGraw's Life Strategies for Dealing with Bullies (McGraw, 2008: Alladin).
- Body image is on the forefront of adolescents' minds. Understanding the difference between ideal image (as portrayed in the media) and real image (how people really look) is a sure way to help adolescents