Get informed : Body and health
Questions about body and health
Your Body, Your Health
Exercise
Keeping active is just as important as eating right if you want stay healthy! Like two best friends, they go hand in hand!
THE BENEFITS
Exercise helps you:
WANT TO MAKE GOOD CHOICES?
Fun first! Do you enjoy being physically active? Which do you prefer: individual or group sports? Organized activities, or ones that you can do whenever you feel like it or need to?
Your goal. You can exercise to feel good, to stay healthy — not just to help you lose a few pounds so that you can improve your chances of meeting the romantic partner of your dreams… These are all quite different goals!
Your limits. Do you take into account your abilities and limits when you're physically active?
For more help, check out Canada’s Physical Activity Guide to Healthy Active Living as well as the site www.vasy.gouv.qc.ca.
HOW MUCH TIME SHOULD YOU SET ASIDE FOR EXERCISE?
Listen to your body! It's okay to take your limits into account, and to start out at a pace you can handle. Do you let yourself progress at your own pace?
Get information from Phys Ed experts (teachers, trainers) or from a doctor, to be sure you choose activities and intensity levels that are suited to you.
Incorporate exercise into your daily routine. For example, set aside 30 minutes a day for exercise.
THE BENEFITS
Exercise helps you:
- stay in shape and keep your heart healthy
- blow off steam
- relax
- have fun
- make friends (if you participate in group sports)
- improve your self-esteem, because you’re proud of what you’ve done and of the effects of exercise on your body
WANT TO MAKE GOOD CHOICES?
Fun first! Do you enjoy being physically active? Which do you prefer: individual or group sports? Organized activities, or ones that you can do whenever you feel like it or need to?
Your goal. You can exercise to feel good, to stay healthy — not just to help you lose a few pounds so that you can improve your chances of meeting the romantic partner of your dreams… These are all quite different goals!
Your limits. Do you take into account your abilities and limits when you're physically active?
For more help, check out Canada’s Physical Activity Guide to Healthy Active Living as well as the site www.vasy.gouv.qc.ca.
HOW MUCH TIME SHOULD YOU SET ASIDE FOR EXERCISE?
Listen to your body! It's okay to take your limits into account, and to start out at a pace you can handle. Do you let yourself progress at your own pace?
Get information from Phys Ed experts (teachers, trainers) or from a doctor, to be sure you choose activities and intensity levels that are suited to you.
Incorporate exercise into your daily routine. For example, set aside 30 minutes a day for exercise.
Nutrition
Age makes a difference. As your body changes, it needs more energy. As a result, your appetite will increase.
Eating well. To make good choices about food, you need to have the right information! There are useful tools out there, like Canada’s Food Guide — take the time to check them out! A professional, such as a nutritionist or a nurse, can help too.
A love/hate relationship. Sometimes, when we don’t feel good about our bodies, we turn to food, as if it was the key to feeling better. And when people think about losing a few pounds, they think of cutting down on what they eat. But watch out! Skipping meals, not eating enough, making poor nutritional choices — even eating too much — can cause health problems. The key is to keep everything balanced.
Eating well. To make good choices about food, you need to have the right information! There are useful tools out there, like Canada’s Food Guide — take the time to check them out! A professional, such as a nutritionist or a nurse, can help too.
A love/hate relationship. Sometimes, when we don’t feel good about our bodies, we turn to food, as if it was the key to feeling better. And when people think about losing a few pounds, they think of cutting down on what they eat. But watch out! Skipping meals, not eating enough, making poor nutritional choices — even eating too much — can cause health problems. The key is to keep everything balanced.
Personal hygiene
“That sure makes me sweat!” When you’re a teenager, hormones are
hard at work to help you grow and develop sexual traits (development of
breasts or penis, appearance of hair, change of voice). And sometimes
the consequences really stink — literally! You may sweat more, and
notice that some odours seem to be following you around! Daily personal
hygiene (underarms, genitals, breath, feet, for example) is usually
enough to avoid smelling bad.
Hygiene basics. Taking
showers, brushing your teeth, using deodorant, and making sure your
clothes are clean are all good ways to minimize bad odours (read more
here about guys’ hygiene and here about girls’ hygiene)!
If the smells don’t go away…
Excessively strong body odour can be a sign of infection or of some
other problem. If you feel your body odour is excessive, the best idea
would be to go see a health professional (doctor, nurse, gynaecologist,
dentist, etc.).
hard at work to help you grow and develop sexual traits (development of
breasts or penis, appearance of hair, change of voice). And sometimes
the consequences really stink — literally! You may sweat more, and
notice that some odours seem to be following you around! Daily personal
hygiene (underarms, genitals, breath, feet, for example) is usually
enough to avoid smelling bad.
Hygiene basics. Taking
showers, brushing your teeth, using deodorant, and making sure your
clothes are clean are all good ways to minimize bad odours (read more
here about guys’ hygiene and here about girls’ hygiene)!
If the smells don’t go away…
Excessively strong body odour can be a sign of infection or of some
other problem. If you feel your body odour is excessive, the best idea
would be to go see a health professional (doctor, nurse, gynaecologist,
dentist, etc.).