DR. WALLACE: Unfortunately for me, I'm experiencing more than a small amount of acne now that I'm 17 and a high school junior. I'm being raised by a single mother who believes firmly that my acne is due to my passion for fast food. I love all kinds of fast food, some of which is a bit greasy, I'll admit.

But I always thought that your advice regarding acne had nothing at all to do with an individual's diet. Is this still true? I hope so. Because if it is, and if you'll print my letter, then I can show your reply to my mom so that she'll ease off cutting out my fast food, and more importantly, she'll focus on getting me the help I really need to deal with my condition. Help me out if you can. — Suffering With Acne, via email

SUFFERING WITH ACNE: You must indeed be at least an intermittent reader of this column because your assumptions are correct. The oils that collect in pores on the skin have nothing to do with the oils that a batch of french fries are cooked in, for example.

As teenagers mature, their bodies begin producing additional hormones that influence an increase in the production of oils in the pores of the skin. This process is the reason, not your diet. You should make some changes to your diet, in my opinion, to balance your overall health, but I can't blame your diet for your acne.

And since you are indeed now suffering from acne, your mother should consider having you visit a licensed dermatologist as soon as possible. There are modern treatments that can greatly reduce or even eliminate acne in some cases. And to help you lobby your mother immediately, it is true that the sooner treatments take place, the easier and more likely it is that good results can be achieved.

WHY MUST MY FATHER PUSH ME TO GROW TALLER?

DR. WALLACE: I'm a 17-year-old girl who is petite in stature. I know I'm much shorter than many, if not all, my classmates in my grade, but I have no problem with it! I'm barely 4 feet, 9 inches tall, and I'm so comfortable with my height that I almost never wear high heels unless I'm attending a formal event.

My challenge is that my father is quite uncomfortable with my height. He constantly goes to health food stores and buys all kinds of supplements that he blends into smoothies that he wants me to drink. He thinks these supplements are going to make me sprout up suddenly. But even though I roll with sipping a few of his concoctions, I think all of this is unnecessary.

It's easy for me to squeeze into any airline seat with no problem at all, and even the smallest hotel bed is still roomy for me! Someday, I'll marry a guy who loves me as I am and who will be able to reach up to the top shelves of our home and lift all the heavy things that might need to be moved around. So there's no problem, right?

Nobody ever says a girl is too tall, but some people like my dad and others feel I'm way too short. At least my mom is not in this group. — Tiny and Loving It, via email

TINY AND LOVING IT: The collective "wisdom" of society is not always correct or even logical on many topics, including the one you raise here. I love that you are indeed quite comfortable with yourself, just as you should be no matter what physical attributes you may or may not have.

You've pointed out some quick examples of advantages you presently benefit from given your height, and I'm sure there are many others as well. But I feel your greatest advantage is simply liking, accepting and celebrating yourself exactly as you are.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at rwallace@thegreatestgift.com. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Photo credit: Karolina Ko?odziejczak at Unsplash