1. Identifying Health Risks

2. Risk Factor Any actions or condition that increases the likely hood of injury, disease or other negative outcome. What are some common risk factors in teens? Risk Factors fall into three categories 1. Hereditary 2. Environmental 3. Behavioral

3. Hereditary Risk Factors Traits that are passed biologically from parents to child. Can affect health in many ways. Inherited traits include things such as, eye color, height and build. Can also determine whether a person will be affected by certain disorders or disabilities.

4. Environmental Physical Environment : includes both your outdoor and indoor surroundings. (air you breath, water you drink, radon, asbestos, lead, carbon monoxide, secondhand smoke.) Social Environment : people you are around, family, friends, classmates and other people you spend time with. This will change as you grow older… Cultural Environment : beliefs and patterns of behavior that are shared by a group of people passed on by generation to generations. Language, food preference, attitudes and traditions.

5. Behavioral Risk Factors These result from your actions and decisions you make on a daily basis. The impulsive nature of teens puts them at greater risk. They are also more likely to explore and try new things during this age. Unlike many other risk factors, you alone decide which behavioral risk factor you will face.

6. Behavioral cont. The top 3 causes of death for young people have one thing in common…they all fall into the category of a behavioral risk factor: Motor Vehicle Injuries Homicide Suicide

7. Behavior Change Four steps of behavior change: Awareness : Be able to recognize when you are doing something wrong or unsafe. Difficult for teens. Knowledge : Know what the correct behavior is for a particular situation. Know what a healthy choice would be…or find out! Decision Making : Utilize skills to pick healthy choices and apply your values. Apply Skills : Practice making good choices.