get out of the past. get fios. >> welcome to "teen kids news." i'm veronique. here's this week's top story. [ up-tempo music plays ] eating disorders are unfortunately all too common among american teens, and you might be surprised to find out what some experts believe contributes to the problem. katie tells us more. [ electronic music plays ] >> fashion is big business, and it depends heavily on models to show off items like clothes, hair, and makeup. invariably, these models are tall, good-looking, and thin, and that might be sending the wrong message when it comes to

eating. listen to what a survey of girls in 5th through 12th grade discovered. when asked what influenced their idea of how the perfect body should look, 47% said they were influenced by pictures of models in magazines. and here's one more thing to think about. you know those kinds of perfect bodies you see on runways and in advertising? well, according to the experts, only about 5% of us naturally look like that. or, put another way, 95% of us, the overwhelming majority, don't look like the models we see. and that has some teens taking drastic measures that can lead to what medical experts call eating disorders. to talk more about this is dr. megan jones. she's a psychologist from stanford university. welcome, doctor. >> hi. thanks for having me. >> so that we're all on the same page, what exactly are eating disorders? >> eating disorders are conditions that occur when you are not eating in a healthy way.

and what i mean by that is where you're trying to overly control your eating by cutting out food groups, not eating enough, or feeling like you're losing control over your eating, and where you feel really guilty and maybe even feel ashamed about how you look and how you're eating. >> okay. when you look at models and you see them so thin, i mean, isn't it healthier to be thin than to be chubby? >> well, that's not necessarily true. so, when you look at models who are, like, on fashion runways, they're not healthy. that kind of thin is actually very, very dangerous. and when you look at people who are overweight, they might actually be much, much healthier physically and emotionally than those models on a runway. >> so you're saying that it's actually unhealthy for teens to compare ourselves to fashion models and other types of

>> it is unhealthy because it's an unfair comparison, and it's unrealistic. >> you know, that brings up another point. the models that we see in magazines, for example, or even on the red carpet like at awards ceremonies, are we seeing a true picture of what they really look like, or are they somehow enhanced or changed through technology or other devices? >> they're changed a lot. the images that we see in media like magazines, online, at the academy awards, they're not real. there's a lot of things that happen before someone even gets in front of the camera, in terms of makeup and lighting, maybe even plastic surgery. and then, after the image is taken, tools like photoshop are used to alter the image to what we see. >> so, when we talk about the danger of comparing ourselves to what we see, is that something that is really just for girls, or are guys susceptible to this,

>> guys are definitely susceptible, as well, and, unfortunately, we're less likely to notice when guys are affected because boys are less likely to come forward and say that they're concerned about their body image or they're less likely to be noticed when they're eating in a way that is too strict. so the images and media that boys see affects them just as much as it affects girls. >> interesting. thank you very much, dr. jones. >> thank you. >> clearly, the message here is eating a proper and healthy diet never goes out of fashion. for "teen kids news," i'm katie.

>> this report is brought to you by the national road safety foundation. driving -- it's something most of us can't wait to do, but it comes with a lot of responsibility. that's why sadd, students against destructive decisions, is participating in a special

contest. scott tells us more. >> all: [ chanting ] hey, you! you know what to do! you've got to rock with the red and roll with the blue! all: [ chanting ] we feel good! oh, oh, we feel so good! [ all cheering ] >> no question about it -- there was a lot to cheer about at sadd's national conference in nashville, tennessee. [ upbeat music plays ] every year, teen leaders from around the country get together for this exciting, multiday event. high on the agenda is driving safety. >> oh, my gosh, i just saw the craziest thing on my way to school today. >> what happened? >> it was this driver, and he was driving way too fast. >> as with previous years, the big kickoff meeting is a mixture of icebreaker fun and games... >> step, cross, step step, cross, step >> ...serious business... >> right now, ladies and gentlemen, would you please welcome my brand-new friend, the president and c.e.o. of sadd national, dawn teixeira. come on, everybody! [ cheers and applause ] >> ...and activities to get

[ upbeat music plays ] >> ride the bus >> but the star attraction of the night was the first-ever showing of a very special psa created by the sadd chapter from madison county, indiana. [ whir! ] but before we show you the psa, let's take a step back and explain how it all came about. >> so, we found out about the driving skills 101 psa contest at sadd nationals last year in 2014, and we decided, "you know, our chapter is capable of coming up with some really awesome, creative ideas, so this sounds right up our alley." >> and then we did, like, a big conference call to kind of get the ball rolling to generate some ideas. >> their idea was to contrast a racecar driver, who speeds to win a trophy, with a teen, who speeds to meet a friend, and -- well, i don't want to spoil it for you, but you can probably guess that it doesn't end well for the teen. >> so, with the collective efforts of this focus group from madison county, we developed a storyboard of the psa that we were going to shoot, and then we submitted it to the national

couple months later, we found out that our idea was just good enough to win. >> we were all so excited. like, we didn't even believe that they would really pick us. so it was a good feeling, yeah. >> so, the national road safety foundation sponsors contests like these because we want to get teens involved in speaking about the dangers of reckless driving and speak to their peers. >> it's easier to hear things from kids your own age than adults, because you don't always listen to adults, and, like, kids your own age you just feel like understand you more. >> as part of the prize, an award-winning director and video crew flew to indiana to shoot the psa. many of the chapter's members, along with volunteers from the community, were the actors. >> and..action. >> and i play the part of a teen driver who was speeding at the time. dude, i'm running late. i'll be there as fast as i can. >> this professional would win the race, and then the student driver wouldn't because he was speeding, like, off the road. >> i had the opportunity to be the teen driver's girlfriend, and that was really awesome

because it felt like real life when we were in the hospital and when the doctor came to break the news. >> action. >> i'm really sorry. >> [ crying ] no! no! [ normal voice ] i think it was really awesome because of the impact it'll have on the teenagers, and once the news was broken, i had the chance to be really emotional and cry into my friend's arm, and i thought that was really nice. >> once the shooting was finished, the tv crew edited the spot, adding sound effects and graphics. >> i haven't seen it yet. it'll come on in just a little bit over an hour. i am super-excited about it. we've been talking about it for weeks in madison county. >> everyone's really pumped up for it 'cause it will be our first time seeing it. >> can't wait, and it's really soon. [ inhales deeply ] i'm really excited. >> the world debut of their psa when "teen kids news" returns. we'll be right back. >> that was the coolest thing ever to finally see it all come to life that we worked, like, forever on, and that was just

[ theme music plays ] >> and who's in the sadd national conference for the first time? raise your hands, everyone. [ crowd cheering ] >> we're in nashville, tennessee, at the annual sadd conference. sadd stands for students against destructive decisions, and one of the most destructive decisions you can make is to drive recklessly. the young leaders here are about to see the psa the sadd chapter from madison, indiana helped create. skit. >> well, yeah, i saw that on their teenlane.org. it was a whole bunch of information about how teens like us can bring an awareness to teen driver safety. >> oh, look, and there's cool prizes, too! you can even get your psa shown at the sadd national conference and put on "teen kids news"? >> you know, i think they're actually about to show it right now. [ cheers and applause ]

[ soft music plays ] [ hard rock music plays ] >> i'm ready to go. [ engine revs, tires squeal ] >> dude, i'm running late. i'll be there as fast as i can. [ soft music plays ] [ hard rock music plays ] [ heartbeat ] [ hard rock music plays ] [ tires screech, glass shatters ] [ siren wailing ] [ cheers and applause ] [ heartbeat ] [ police radio chatter ] [ soft music plays ] [ flatline ] >> all: life is not a race! go your own pace! [ cheers and applause ]

>> now, that was awesome. >> i thought it looked fantastic. >> it was better than i could've ever imagined. i was just so pumped to see it on the screen. >> we had great community support and partners, and so that's exciting, too, and i know they're all excited to take it back home and share it not only with their peers, but with the rest of the community. >> so, sadd national is partnering with the national road safety foundation again next year to offer our chapters an incredible opportunity to share information on the dangers of tailgating in their schools. >> the kinds in this room are all here for the same reason because we want people to drive safely, and we want people to know that life's not a race -- go your own pace, like the video said. so i think that now they're all, like, wanting to make a video and spread the same message that we did. >> this is an annual contest that we do along with sadd national, and you can log on to teenlane.org, where you can

you can log on to sadd.org. >> the kids from madison county will tell you that, while winning the contest was exciting, knowing that their psa may help save lives is truly the big prize. for "teen kids news," i'm scott. [ chalk scratching ] [ car door closes, engine turns over ] [ vehicle departs, horns honking ] [ chalk scratching, jazzy music plays ] [ seat belt clicks ] >> hey. >> oh. whoo-hoo! [ horns honking,

[ theme music plays ] >> coming up, we'll meet kids who help turn something you throw out every day into a real

>> it's been said that one person's trash is another person's art. some elementary students are proving that's certainly true, but with a twist. daniella has the story. >> from a distance, it sure looks like this museum in newark, new jersey, has one of the world's greatest paintings on display -- "starry night," by vincent van gogh. >> when vincent van gogh died, he became famous for his paintings.

liked his paintings. >> he, like, uses bright colors in all his paintings, except for one of them when he was really mad -- he used dark colors. >> yes, all true, but what's not true is that van gogh painted this picture. it's actually a copy of his "starry night" made up of recycled bottle caps. >> some of these are from coffee, orange juice, and lots of things. we had trouble getting the yellow ones the most. and the blue ones are from water, like, when you drink water. we had trouble with these ones, too. >> first-grade teacher andrea arguello wanted the students to learn about two subjects that don't usually go together -- art and recycling. >> and then these color ones, like, some of these are from the cafeteria bottles. and then the green ones are mainly from, like, the sodas, sprites. >> the book "bottlecap little

bottlecap" gave the teacher the idea to create the mural. >> the brown ones are from chocolate milk. these big ones, the big yellow ones, are from coffee. the white ones are from, like, water. you can see the transparent ones. the oranange ones are from orange juice. and that's pretty much it. >> so, it took about 300 students. it was october through march we collected... >> the bottle caps for the "starry night" mural. >> and it took one month to make the mural. >> the picture needed about 7,000 bottle caps, so the kids began collecting. >> teachers, students, some people from maria's deli -- a lot of people helped. >> we put a little sign that said, "please help us collect bottle caps for the 'starry night' mural." >> this is incredible.

i never imagined such a tremendous impact. >> it sure was tremendous. with the help of the community, they collected not 7,000, but more than 50,000 caps. >> ms. arguello first painted it, and then she screwed in the bottle caps on three large pieces of wood. >> sounds easy, but even with the volunteers helping out, it was a lot of work. when the mural was finally finished, it was too big to display in their school. >> well, i wrote an e-mail to the museum and called them, and they called back. and within a day or two, they said that, "we would love to display it," and we were so happy that they gave us that chance. >> newark museum's ted lind said the decision to display the mural was an easy one. >> it's an incredible work of art. we've already had some people come up and want to buy the mural, and i think that says a lot about the quality of it, the craftsmanship, the hours of labor that were put into that. >> in fact, the museum is encouraging the school to take

on a new project to create a bottle-cap mural to complement the work done by another important artist. >> his name was joseph stella, and we have a major piece that he created in the 1920s here called "voice of the city interpreted," and it's just a wonderful representation of new york city at the time when -- you know, in the "roaring '20s," when everything was very exciting and dynamic. it's very colorful. so we're hoping to connect that artwork with the children at the school and they'll create another major piece. [ upbeat music plays ] >> the other goal of the art project was to get the community to become more aware of the importance of recycling. >> the message that people could get is not only trash is trash -- you can use trash to recycle, and you can make brand-new things out of it. >> i would say the thing that i really enjoyed the most was that children were teaching their parents about recycling. many parents were not recycling at home, and because of this, children told them, and they are

recycling now. >> there's a famous saying that, "imitation is the highest form of flattery." in that case, vincent van gogh would no doubt be pleased to know that a painting he did more than a hundred years ago still has the "capacity" to "capture" so much attention today. for "teen kids news," i'm daniella. [ theme music plays ] >> next, i'm gonna show you how to make a delicious healthy snack that will keep you going all day long. "teen kids news" will be right

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introducing starbucks small-batch cold brew coffee. in stores now. >> we've got another easy recipe to impress your family and friends with, courtesy of the culinary institute of america. >> peanut butter and chocolate is probably the best flavor combination ever, and when you add some dried fruit, nuts, and oats, you're gonna make some really great granola bars. let's get started. first, what you're gonna do is you're gonna take a cup and a half of peanut butter and put it in the microwave for about 30 seconds to soften it up and be able to coat all of your ingredients.

[ microwave beeps ] okay. perfect. and you might need more than 30 seconds, depending on the microwave, but if you do, just throw it back in. it's no big deal. give it a stir so it's nice and melted, and you're gonna add 1/2 cup of honey right in there. perfect. okay. give that a nice mix. you want it to be really incorporated so you can mix it around with all the other ingredients. perfect. okay. now you're gonna add 1h cups of oats. some chopped cashews -- about 1/2 cup. 2/3 cup of almonds, chopped up, as well. and i use dried craisins, but you can use raisins, you can use dried cherries -- any kind of dried fruit you'd like. that's about 1/3 cup.

so it's fully incorporated. just like that. and once your peanut butter mixture is all cooled down, then you can add the chocolate chips. you don't want to add it right away 'cause they'll melt. perfect. and then 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips. perfect. okay, once that's fully incorporated, you're gonna take an 8x8 pan and line it with parchment paper. okay. and you're gonna scoop it right into the pan. the best part about these is that you don't have to bake them in the oven, so they're done in only about an hour when they're all cooled. so you can eat them as soon as you want.

down just like that. okay, this batch has been sitting for about one hour in the refrigerator. and when you line the parchment beforehand, make sure you give a little bit of extra parchment on top so you can pull them out of the pan easier. now we're gonna cut them up. these look really good. okay. great. and last one. if you're on the go, these peanut butter chocolate granola bars are perfect to take along. let's have a bite. mmm! they're so good and so peanut buttery. [ chuckles ] at the culinary institute of america for "teen kids news," i'm nicole. [ theme music plays ] >> that looks really good. we'll see you again next week with another edition of