DR. WALLACE: I'm 15 and my parents do allow me to date, but they insist that my date and I double date with another couple. This is really a bummer and shows that they do not really trust me. Do you agree? — Nameless, Ames, Iowa.

NAMELESS: If your parents didn't trust you, you wouldn't be allowed to date at all. Double dating can be fun and allows a certain amount of freedom where you can just be yourself. Single dating puts a lot more pressure on younger teens that are relatively inexperienced in dating. The biggest problem seems to be keeping an interesting conversation flowing.

Be happy that you are allowed to date. Many 15-year-olds write because they are not even permitted this privilege.

HIS HABIT IS CRUDE AND RUDE

DR. WALLACE: My boyfriend has the bad habit of cracking his knuckles. Whenever he does this, I tell him it's not only rude and crude, but that it will lead to arthritis when he gets older. My grandfather cracked his knuckles all the time and now he is so arthritic that he can't even write. My boyfriend doesn't believe this. He says he's sure what he's doing is not harmful.

Please give him the word. I also would like to know what happens physically to make that terrible cracking noise. — Sylvia, Baltimore, Md.

SYLVIA: The sound can be irritating, but there is no evidence that it will cause problems later in life, according to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. The cracking noise is caused by the quick forcing of the fluids that line the joints from one side of the joint to the other.

If your boyfriend truly cares for you, he will honor your wish and eliminate this unpleasant habit when he is with you.

DIET PILLS CAN BECOME ADDICTIVE

DR. WALLACE: An overweight teen wrote asking if it would be safe for her to lose 30 pounds by taking diet pills. I was surprised that you told her she shouldn't take them because of health reasons. I was 40 pounds overweight last year and with the help of diet pills I am now down to my normal weight of 120 pounds.

Diet pills work. They suppress the desire to pig out. I would recommend diet pills to any teen that is overweight. I am living proof that they work! — Nameless, Tupelo, Miss.

NAMELESS: Yes, diet pills can be effective. They also happen to be highly addictive and often cause far more problems than they solve. And weight one loses on a quickie, crash diet almost always creeps back. The only way to avoid this is to establish well-balanced, healthy eating habits.

I'm happy for your success in losing 40 pounds and hope you are an exception to the rule. But please don't let your success encourage you to push diet pills on others. There's only one healthy way to lose weight: proper eating combined with regular exercise. This method takes longer, but you won't wreck your health in the process.

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. E-mail 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: Victor