The 50 Healthiest Habits and Lifestyle Changes. By Myrna Chandler Goldstein and Mark A. Goldstein. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood, 2016. 303 pages. Acid free $58 (ISBN 978-1-4408-3471-4). E-book available (978-1-4408-3472-1), call for pricing.

The 50 Healthiest Habits and Lifestyle Changes is written by a physician with special training in adolescent and young adult medicine, and his wife. They agreed to write the book based on research that shows the importance of starting healthy habits at an early age. Topics covered in this book are topics that would be of interest to adolescents and young adults.

This book comprises seven main sections: “Food and Healthy Eating,” “Exercise and Physical Activity,” “Medical Care and Avoiding Medical Issues,” “Safety,” “Mental, Emotional, and Social Health,” “Sex and Dating,” and “Other Lifestyle Choices.” Multiple entries fall within each section. For example, “Don’t Text While Driving” falls under “Safety.” Tanning beds and e-cigarettes are discussed in “Other Lifestyle Choices” along with screen time and Internet addiction.

The entries in The 50 Healthiest Habits and Lifestyle Changes are a few pages long and they all follow the same format. They provide an overview of the topic, present science-based evidence on what the experts say, and include barriers and problems associated with the behavior being discussed. References used to write the entry are listed under a notes section. Each entry ends with references and resources for additional reading on a topic.

The entries in The 50 Healthiest Habits and Lifestyle Changes, while short, are very thorough in covering the topic that is being addressed. I think the length of the entries is a great strength of this book. I don’t think adolescents and young adults would be as apt to read lengthy entries. Another strength is the choice of entries discussed. The entries are very geared toward today’s adolescents and young adults. The entries, while based on scientific evidence, are written in an easy-to-understand manner, another strength that will help keep adolescents’ and young adults’ interest while reading.

I was not able to find resources to compare to The 50 Healthiest Habits and Lifestyle Changes, which demonstrates that this book fills a void in Young Adult non-fiction. I would recommend this book for Young Adult/Teen areas of public libraries. It has many strengths that would add value to the collection as a whole.—Mina Chercourt, Head of Cataloging and Metadata, John Carroll University, University Heights, Ohio