Kids who don’t drink water are having more sugar and junk food in the US now. They get sugar from sodas, sweet juice and some other drinks. There was a new study. It was on 8,400 children. They were between the ages of 2 and 19. It found that twenty percent of the children didn’t drink any water. That’s on any given day. It also showed that those kids got more calories from sweet drinks. That’s compared to children who did drink water every day. Children who do not drink water can have almost twice as many calories. “Kids should drink water every day. And the first drink for kids should be water because it is healthy,” said one teacher.

The study showed two thirds of the children have junk food for lunch for it is fast and delicious. Junk food, like hamburgers, hot dogs and French fries, makes children in the US overweight and brings many health problems. This is because it has lots of salt and sugar. Children who eat junk food four to five times a week are easy to have heart diseases. “Kids should keep a balanced diet with both vegetables and all kinds of meat because giving what our body needs is important,” said another teacher.

Nowadays, many teens are badly addicted to using phones. It probably won’t surprise you that teens are texting more than ever before.

Instead of sleeping, Kenny Alarcon, 16, often texts with his friends through the night. Frances Garcia, a high school senior, sends and receives about 1000 texts each day. Both Frances and Kenny wake up several times during the night to text. Kenny even sleeps with his phone under his pillow.

Dr.Elizabeth Dowdell, a professor at Villanova University in Pennsylvania, says that it’s common for teens to be interrupted by texts while sleeping. “If they often lose sleep,” Dr.Dowdell says, “teens may become angry, or depressed. A lack of sleep can lead to weight gain and even obesity because many people turn to junk food for quick energy when they are tired.”

Some experts are worried about how texting is affecting teenagers’ lives. One concern is that students might not learn correct grammar and spelling if most of the writing they do is made up of text messages. Some people also worry that teens don’t spend enough time talking with others face-to-face, which could be hurting their relationships with friends and family. Moreover, all that texting takes away hours that could be spent studying, exercising, taking up a hobby, or just relaxing.

According to Dr. Dowdell, teens need to learn that they can and should turn off their phones sometimes. She had Kenny and Frances do an experiment. These were the rules: No phone for 48 hours. No computer or Internet either, unless it was for schoolwork.

After 48 phone-free hours, Kenny and Frances were interviewed. “Wow, it was pure torture(折磨),” Kenny joked. Kenny missed his friends, and he was sad at times. But he also felt relief from the constant texting. He spent time reading books and talking with his family, which he really enjoyed. Frances had an even happier result. “I loved it!” she said, “I was going to the gym and hanging out with friends and playing basketball. I had a wonderful experience.” Frances decided to continue the experiment for a while. “I think I’ll be so much smarter and healthier,” she explained, “everybody in the world should try it.”