Harmfull lifestyle exposes teens to health threats

Harmfull lifestyle exposes teens to health threats

JAKARTA (JP): Doctors and an NGO here over the weekend raised
the alarm over the health perils faced by teenagers due to
unhealthy lifestyles commonly found among the youth.

Activists from the Pelita Ilmu Foundation during a two-day
exhibition over the weekend attempted to increase teenagers'
awareness that despite their age, they remained very much at risk
of falling victim to various life-threatening diseases, including
cancer and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

They warned that teenagers could no longer hide behind the
veil of the "immortality of youth" and remain careless about
their physical wellbeing.

"Teens seem to have the perception that bad things such as
cancer are unlikely to happen to them because they are young,"
Dr. Samsuridjal Djauzi, chairperson of the Pelita Ilmu
Foundation, told The Jakarta Post.

"They adopt smoking habits, while others even take drugs,
ignoring the fact that these habits are hazardous to their
health," he added.

Reminding teenagers that disease does not discriminate over
age and that their future wellbeing depends on how they act now
was the major theme of the exhibition.

One illness which most teenagers are oblivious of is cancer.

"We'd like to create an awareness among teenagers of the
importance of health examinations, as the chance of curing cancer
is larger when detected in its early stages," said Dr.
Samsuridjal.

He added that smoking, a popular trend among the young, was
another concern. He suggested that while ideally teenagers should
stop the habit altogether they should at least undergo regular
health checkups.

"Some choose to ignore the dangers of smoking which could
easily lead to cancer," he said, pointing that cigarette
promotions commonly found in various public events were purposely
not invited to the current exhibition.

In one of the health stands setup by the Dharmais Cancer
Hospital, female doctors were on hand to coach teens on self
examination for breast cancer detection.

Posters and leaflets were also readily available for those who
were too shy to ask.

"Many seem to be embarrassed to ask questions relating to
breast cancer," said Dr. Ayi Djembarsari.

"But we handed them the leaflets anyway, hoping they would
read it at home," she said adding that many of the female
teenagers came just to look around without asking any questions.

Rahmat Kurniawan, a researcher at the foundation, also
expressed concern of the continuing dangers of STDs.

Rahmat estimates that "around 30 percent of our teenagers,
mostly in the cities, engage in unprotected premarital sex."

"They are very prone to STDs, and not many of them have
sufficient knowledge on the subject," he said.

"Although the number of teenagers afflicted with STDs is not
as many as found in adults, it would be better to make them aware
of the problem," Rahmat said.

These concerns are compounded with the danger of Human
Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency
Syndrome (AIDS), which has also become particularly prevalent
among intravenous drug users who share needles.

"Sadly, more and more teens are involved in drug abuse," he
added.

"The drugs themselves are already dangerous, but now you can
get infected with various diseases because of the drug use,"
Rahmat warned.

Whether the two-day exhibition itself was effective in getting
the message through remains to be seen. Organizers claim that
about 2,000 youth visited the Teen Bazaar 2001 at Pasar Festival
in Kuningan, South Jakarta.

At the very least the event tried to find an alternative way
to disseminate information through a medium which may by more
appealing to the youth.

Music performances were staged as well as theater and dance.

"The performances were used to attract the teenagers,
otherwise they wouldn't be interested to even come," Samsuridjal
remarked.

His statement was clearly reflected in the number of visitors
who seemed to be there to enjoy the entertainment.

One young visitor, 22-year-old Okta, when asked by the Post
admitted that she had not visited any of the health stands.

"I'm actually here to see my friend's band perform," she
remarked.(06)