Teens and young men have tremendous resilience and healing capacity. Ron Sinha, M.D., is an internal medicine physician at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation who frequently lectures about men’s health issues. He notes that it is during this age when men typically feel invincible.
"You can eat a large pizza and barely gain a pound. You can pull all-nighters consecutively for a week before final exams and recover after sleeping in a full day,” he says.
Unfortunately, as high levels of male hormones begin a natural and gradual decline with age, these super-human capabilities fade and poor diet and exercise habits you’ve established while young begin to catch up with you.
“Teens and young men benefit long-term when they see a doctor for a full physical exam every few years, get needed vaccinations and learn the importance of a good diet, regular exercise and sufficient sleep before bad lifestyle habits get deeply ingrained and harder to change,” Dr. Sinha says.