Adolescence and Internal Change

The endocrine change. Do you remember the names and functions of the endocrine glands? You will remember that the endocrines hold the keys to many body functions and that the pituitary is the keystone to several of these functions.

One of the most important hormones of the pituitary is secreted during adolescence. This hormone starts the process by which adolescents become mature men and women. It causes the secretion of male hormones in men and female hormones in women. It is these hormones that produce  the marked physical changes that occur during adolescence.

The female hormones produce the changes in body structure, appearance, and voice that make a mature woman. The male hormones produce the changes in body structure, appearance, and voice that make a mature man. These changes are stimulated by the pituitary, and are controlled by heredity. Some boys and girls will begin to mature early in their adolescence and others will begin to mature later. The timing of the change, however, has nothing to do with the eventual maturity of the individual or with his or her attractiveness. You may have guessed that these factors are controlled by heredity, too. Adolescent voice changes. One of the most easily observed adolescent changes is a change in voice quality. In boys, the rapid change in the larynx, or voice box, creates a new voice, which is lower in pitch. In girls, where the change in size of the vocal folds, or cords, is not as great, the changes in pitch and quality are not so pronounced.

Sometime during his adolescence every boy goes through a period when his voice is unreliable. It may be high pitched one moment and deep the next. This uncomfortable situation is temporary and is caused by the changes in the voice box. During adolescence the voice box falls to a lower position in the throat and the vocal folds lengthen. The longer the folds become, the lower the boy’s voice becomes.

While the boy’s vocal folds are changing, he may not have complete control over them. When he is excited or tired, the muscles controlling the vocal cords may tighten, and the boy’s voice will rise in pitch. Happily, this condition does not last long.

 

Think for Yourself

How can a boy whose voice is changing help to avoid the in pitch that sometimes occur?

Solving Growth Problems

Eating habits. Do you often skip breakfast because there is not time or because you are not hungry? Unfortunately, many teen-agers do. Also, many teen-agers eat one or two snacks a day during their years of rapid growth. These eating habits are common and may contribute to growth or weight problems in adolescents.

Underweight. When boys and girls suddenly grow tall, they sometimes think they have become underweight. Actually, their bodies have not had time to fill out because of their sudden spurt upward. Many teen-agers’ fear of being underweight is due to this unevenness in growth.

In rare cases, teen-agers are underweight. Nutrition is one cause; glandular disturbances, worry, lack of rest, or infection are other causes. When being underweight is caused by one of these problems, a doctor should be consulted. It is not a good idea to try to adjust your diet to gain weight without a doctor’s advice. This kind of self-treatment can cause nutritional problems and should be avoided.

Overweight. Problems of being overweight are much more common than problems of being underweight. One cause may be the many snacks teen-agers eat. Another cause of being overweight may be that a person may eat too much of a certain type of food. In any event there are several things you can do if excess weight is one of your growth problems.

The first step you should take in coping with a weight problem is to consult your doctor. He may find that your weight gain is a normal part of your own growth pattern. Many people become chubby during certain periods of adolescence, only to lose the unwanted weight at a later time. If the doctor finds that you do have a weight problem, he can recommend a sensible diet to overcome it.

Dieting is a common practice. Unfortunately, many teenagers, particularly girls, follow diets that are poor   in   essential  body  nutrients. When the body does not have these vital foods, or has too much of the wrong kinds of food, it is hindered in its development. Such an unwise diet can cause poor bone formation, tooth decay, and increased susceptibility to illness.

Dieting is not the only solution to problems of being overweight. You can use exercise to hold your weight within reasonable limits. Exercise alone is not a good way to take off weight. You would, for instance, have to walk thirty-five miles to take off one pound. However, a good program of exercise will take off some weight, and will use up energy that would otherwise be converted to fat.

Weight charts. You may see weight charts that state that a person your age and height should weigh a certain number of pounds. These charts may appear to be accurate, but they are actually misleading. Because everyone grows at his own rate and has many purely individual characteristics, there is a good chance that he will not be similar to the "average" in height or weight. From this information, you can see that you cannot conclude you are overweight or underweight simply because you differ from a figure given on a chart. If such a
chart makes you seem seriously overweight or underweight, see your doctor. He will be able to judge your weight in relation to your growth rate, bone structure, general health, and height.

Sleep needs. You have learned that your body is growing "in all directions at once" during your teen years. You are also aware of the great demands of your increasing schedule of activities: sports, homework, hobbies, and projects. Sometimes you may be tempted to make time for all these activities by cutting down on sleeping time.

This method only works for a short time, however. After a few days your lack of sleep will cut down on the energy you have for your activities. Your lack of sleep would also hurt your body’s efforts to grow during this period of great body change. From this information you should see that the recommended eight to ten hours sleep is, in fact, a necessity for growing adolescents.

Think for Yourself

Why is being overweight more common than being underweight in America today

 

Heredity and the Growth Spurt

The internal clock. As you have learned, every cell in your body contains chromosomes, which determine your physical and mental capacities. From your knowledge of heredity, you know that these characteristics were passed on to you by your parents and that neither you nor they can change them. These chromosomes act as a sort of internal clock that sets the time when you will have an adult physique, or body build.

This internal clock controls the beginning of your growth spurt, the rate of your growth, and the time when it will end. It even times the growth of the parts of your body.

You can blame it if your feet get too large or your nose too long. In fact, this clock also helps to determine your body build, athletic capabilities, and a great deal of your personality.

The chromosomes in your internal clock determine all these characteristics only if other factors do not interfere. Your chromosomes might influence your body to grow tall. If you had very poor nutrition, however, you would not grow as tall as you could have. Nutrition, exercise, diseases, and other factors can change the plans of your internal clock.

Predicting size and build. If you look carefully at your parents, you can probably detect many similarities between them and you. However, it is not very often that a person has all or most of his parents’ traits. It is most likely that you will inherit some traits from one parent and some traits from the other.

Because your size is largely determined by your inheritance, you may be able to get a rough idea of your size at maturity by looking at your parents. However, this method is not always accurate. A short mother not a tall father can have tall, medium, and short children. Because of the peculiar way chromosomes work parents of medium height may have tall children, short children, and any size between. Look at the chart to see how parents’ heights affect their children.

Your bone structure, weight, and physical appearance are determined in the same way as your height. However, each of these characteristics is more complex than height. Consequently, it is not likely that you will look exactly like your parents in any of these ways. However, you may have many similar characteristics. Prediction of these characteristics is extremely difficult even in the best of circumstances.

Severe growth problems. If you think that you have serious growth problems, it would be wise to see your doctor. You will remember that the parathyroids, pituitary, and other endocrines control your skeletal growth and physical development. Occasionally, these glands may secrete too much or too little of the hormones that control growth. Doctors can treat this glandular problem by reducing the activity of the gland or by giving regular doses of the necessary hormones. You must realize, however, that there are only a very few cases of glandular difficulty. Most teenagers’ growth problems are not based on glandular problems and can be solved by several relatively simple methods.

Try This

Take two or three of your outstanding physical characteristics and trace them back to your grandparents. Are all your outstanding traits inherited from one side of your family?