Sophomore Lindsay Mallernee works out about three to five timesa week, she said. She takes two to three classes weekly in stepaerobics and kickboxing with her Ball State Recreation pass. She'sbeginning to eat more fruits and vegetables each day.
Mallernee's uncle has diabetes as a result of poor exercisingand eating habits, and she knows she's also at risk for thedisease, Mallernee said.
That's why she's not taking any chances, she said.
"He's struggling with it, too," Mallernee said. "He's had areally hard time."
Like Mallernee, more young females need to look at theirpersonal and family health, especially in today's dormant andjunk-food centered society, Denise Amschler, professor ofphysiology and health science, said.
Tammy Combs, a qualified medical assistant for Women's Servicesat the Amelia T. Wood Health Center, said while young women becomemore exposed to information about diabetes, heart disease,osteoporosis and breast cancer, they still do not get enoughexercise, go in for checkups or watch what they eat.
"They just think they're young, and it's not going to affectthem," Combs said.
HEART DISEASE
Heart disease is the number one killer of women in America,Amscheler said.
According to the National Coalition for Women with HeartDisease, 267,000 women die each year from heart attacks, which killsix times as many women as breast cancer.
"Women are so scared of breast cancer, and not to underminebreast cancer, but heart disease kills a lot more women than breastcancer does," she said.
She said the disease resulted from a combination of genetics andunhealthy lifestyle choices.
Amschler said smoking is also a leading risk factor for heartdisease. Nearly 1,600 female teenagers start smoking for the firsttime every day in the United States, and half of all women killedby tobacco in the world live in the United States, which has only 5percent of the world's population, she said.
"Fortunately, we're starting to get the word out," Amschlersaid. "Doctors are starting to take women more seriously than inthe past, because it was the belief that only men got heartdisease, and that was so wrong."
To prevent the disease, more young women should exercise 20 to30 minutes a day, three to five times a week. They should alsoavoid smoking and eat more fruits and vegetables, whole grains andlow-fat meats like skinless chicken and salmon, Amschler said.
BREAST CANCER
Amschler said eating more fruits and vegetables can helpdecrease a woman's risk of having breast cancer.
"I can't promise that you won't get it, but it does put you inthe lower risk category," she said.
One out of every 19,600 women age 25 is diagnosed with breastcancer, Amschler said.
However, women should still be concerned about it now, she said.Students should know their family history, conduct a breastself-exam every month and eat a diet low in saturated fats.
Drinking alcohol also increases a woman's risk of gettingcancer, she said.
"Even now at this point in life, anybody who drinks about threedrinks a week is going to raise their risk of breast cancer,"Amschler said. "That's no longer debatable."
Students should drink in moderation or not drink at all, asalcohol might increase levels of estrogen circulating to the breasttissues, which can trigger cell abnormalities, she said.
OSTEOPOROSIS
Amschler said more young women should also take the threat ofosteoporosis into consideration, especially while they can stillprevent it.
"They think it's something they don't have to worry about untilthey're 80 years old," she said. "I think they tend not to considerthings that seem farther away or tend to think it will happen tosomeone else."
Osteoporosis, caused by low bone density, can affect women ofall ages, but especially whites and those who have had a low bodyweight all of their lives, she said.
"Up to 25, you're in a prime position to lay down bone density,because after 25, believe it or not, you lose more bone than youput on," Amschler said.
She said 80 percent of a person's bone mass is determined bygenetics, but an individual can manipulate the other 20percent.
"And 20 percent is a lot," Amschler said. "It's the differencebetween having bone mass and not having bone mass."
To build stronger bones, young women should avoid drinking toomuch soda, which actually accelerates bone loss, and consume moremilk, yogurt and other calcium-rich foods, as well as foods rich invitamin D, Amschler said. She said students should also reducetheir caffeine and alcohol intake because these substances causethe kidneys to excrete calcium out of the body through urine morequickly.
Muscular skeletal exercises such as jogging, jumping rope anddancing also help to strengthen bones, she said.
"Where you put impact on the bone, that's where the body's goingto build bone," she said.
Amschler said the Depo-Provera contraceptive shot can actuallybring about bone loss and, over a long period of time, can decreasebone density. If a woman gets off the shot, however, the bones willeventually catch up, she said.
"It's more of a temporary effect, but for some people, thatmight be a problem if they're already at risk," she said.
DIABETES
Type 2 diabetes is especially a problem among today's youngwomen, even though the disease was once a concern only for womenages 60 to 80, Amschler said.
"There is a lack of appreciation for just how serious it canbe," she said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention inAtlanta, 18 million Americans have Type 2 diabetes. Nine million ofthem are women, and a third don't even know they have it.
Amschler said more young women need to watch their blood fat,blood pressure, body mass index and family history.
The body mass index shows how much of a person's weight is fatand how much is muscle, she said. Women with a BMI greater than 30have a higher risk, according to the American DiabetesAssociation.
Ball State's Women's Services offers routine health screeningsincluding breast exams and PAP smears and provides evaluation,treatment and education for several women's health problems,including (but not limited to) breast lumps and cancer.
"We're pretty much what's out there for women," Combs said.
Amschler said more young women should also look into gettingannual checkups.
"It's important that we invest in ourselves," Amschler said."Each life is precious."
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