Puberty (5 page)

THE M WORD

There are lots of myths about masturbation: that if you do it too much it can make your hands hairy or make you go blind or that it is only normal for boys to do it. In fact it is common for both boys and girls to masturbate and is in no way harmful to your body. However, not all teenagers do, and this is just as normal.

Masturbation

You may become aware that touching sensitive areas of your body feels pleasurable. Touching, stroking, or rubbing sexual parts for pleasure (for boys the penis, and for girls the
clitoris
and nipples) is called masturbation. For many teenagers, it is a way of getting to know their bodies as they mature sexually.

“The average age that an adolescent begins to masturbate is eleven years, eight months. Forty-five percent of males and fifteen percent of females masturbate before age thirteen.”

Western Michigan University, USA

Mixing with peers of both sexes can naturally lead to feelings of attraction among teens.

Sexuality

As you begin to have sexual thoughts and fantasies, you will discover your own sexuality. Sexuality is awareness of you as a sexual being, and also awareness of sexual attraction to others. Some people are heterosexual (attracted to people of the opposite sex). Others are homosexual (attracted to people of the same sex). Some are bisexual (attracted to people of both sexes).

Flirting is part of establishing your sexuality and learning to interact with others.

Being gay

Some teenagers are very sure at an early stage that they are homosexual or gay. Others may experience feelings of attraction to both boys and girls before working out their feelings. Some young people who are gay find it hard to acknowledge their feelings to themselves, let alone to others. This may lead to someone feeling worried and alone in coping with his or her emotions. Keeping sexuality a secret is not something that is healthy or workable in the long run, and it will help if you can find someone you trust, whom you can confide in and explain how you are feeling.

“Gay teenagers are ‘coming out’ earlier than ever, and many feel better about themselves than earlier generations of gays.”

USATODAY.com

IT HAPPENED TO ME

When I realized I had feelings toward other boys, I felt I was carrying around this huge secret. My dad has no time for gay people so it was mom I turned to. I can honestly say worrying about telling them was worse than doing it because mom made me realize it wasn’t something I had done; it was just how things are. She helped me talk to Dad about it, too, and though it was a difficult conversation, he is now beginning to accept it.

Gabriel, 17

Am I gay?

Dear Agony Aunt,
I’m a 13-year-old girl, and I have a crush on an older girl at school. I can’t stop thinking about her. When she talks to me, I get really embarrassed but feel excited afterward. Does this mean I am gay?
Shona, 13

Dear Shona
,
It is very normal to have a crush on someone of the same sex when you are growing up, but it doesn’t mean you are necessarily gay. Girls often have crushes on older female pupils, teachers, or pop stars. In puberty, as you search around for role models, you may find yourself looking up to someone, wanting to be like them, and feeling a bit in love with them, all at the same time. Most crushes like yours are not indicators of sexuality. However, it depends on how you are feeling. If you have had these kinds of feelings for other girls in the past, or if you go on to have persistent feelings toward girls or women in the future, then it might mean you are more attracted to girls than boys. The important thing to remember is that these feelings would be normal for you, and they are nothing to be ashamed about
.

6 Your body

Body weight

All boys and girls put on weight during puberty as a normal part of growing. The weight gain in puberty comes from an increase in fat, muscle, bone, and body tissue. Weight and height gain can be uneven, so that some young people grow in height as their body weight increases, while others will put on weight just before a growth spurt. Weight gain in puberty is sometimes called “baby fat.”

HEALTH WARNING

All the growing you do in puberty can give you a big appetite, but it is important to balance your
calorie
intake with activity and exercise.
Obesity
carries many health risks including asthma and type
2 diabetes,
and increased risk of heart disease and high blood pressure. Individuals who are obese have a 50 to 100 percent increased risk of premature death from all causes, compared to individuals with a healthy weight.

BMI

Doctors use body mass index (BMI) to assess whether someone is underweight, a healthy weight, or overweight. For adults, BMI is calculated by dividing their weight in pounds, multiplied by 703, by the square of their height in inches. For young people, doctors compare height and weight against statistics for others of the same age and then rank them according to percentiles. Someone who is in the 60th percentile for height is taller than 60 percent of others in their age range, and shorter than 40 percent of others. There are separate BMI charts for boys and girls and for weight and height. Health experts recommend a BMI for adults between 18.5 and 25.

Balanced diet

To grow and stay healthy, your body needs energy (measured in calories or
kilojoules
) which is provided by food. A healthy diet contains foods from each of the four main food groups, which are:

• starchy carbohydrates (bread, cereals, and potatoes)

• fresh fruit and vegetables

• milk and dairy foods

• meat, fish, and legumes.

Vitamins and minerals (found in fresh fruits and vegetables) are especially important while you are growing. Foods that are high in saturated fats or sugars (cakes, cookies, chips) should be eaten only occasionally as they have little nutritional value and can lead to too much fat being stored in your body. Eating too many foods containing fats and sugars, along with lack of exercise, can cause young people to become overweight or even obese.

Recommended daily calories

Those who are very active may need more calories, and those who are very inactive and do little exercise may require fewer.

Body image

Body image is how we see ourselves. It is influenced by many factors. This can include things people say about us, or comparisons of ourselves to others (such as our peers), or to images we see in the media. Our body image can be very different from the actual shape and appearance of our bodies.

Most of us have something we would like to change about the way we look. But some people can have such a poor or negative body image that it affects their self-esteem (see page
42
) and their well-being.

SIZE ZERO

The fashion industry has been criticized for promoting “size zero” models. These models with a U.S. 0 clothes size (a U.K. size 4) often have a BMI that falls below the recommended healthy range (between 18.5 and 25).

Media influences

During puberty, you can feel unsure of how you are meant to look as your body changes in significant ways. You can begin to feel self-conscious and become sensitive about personal remarks (such as comments about your weight or your acne). You may compare yourself to images you see in the media and feel upset or depressed if you feel you don’t measure up.

Magazines can bombard us with idealized images that set impossible standards.

Images of celebrities are regularly airbrushed to achieve the appearance of flawless skin and a perfect body shape. Some advertising campaigns use body part models who model just hands, or feet, or legs, and these are then digitally assembled to create a perfect model who is not a real person at all. All these enhancements make girls, women, boys, and men feel inferior when they compare themselves against the perfect ideal and can lead to negative body image or even body dysmorphia (a disorder in which people become obsessed with what they see as flaws in their body or body shape).

Poor body image has been blamed as a factor in the increasing numbers of
eating disorders
(see page
36
) in young people.
It can also lead to dieting unnecessarily. Unless your BMI shows that you are much heavier than others in your peer group, dieting is not recommended while your body is growing, as you need a balanced diet at this time (see page
8
for other health risks).