June 2000 • Volume 6 • Number 6
Six risk behaviors pose deadliest threat for youth
Health problems that most often lead to death among people ages 10 to 24 trace back to just six categories of behavior, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
These behaviors wreak havoc on the health of young people -- and lead to cardiovascular disease and other health concerns in later years, said Lloyd Kolbe, Ph.D., director of the CDC's Division of Adole-scent and School Health.
"The bottom line is that these behaviors contribute to the most serious health, educational and social problems that we as a nation face," he said.
Here are the risk behaviors and details from the CDC's 1997 risk assessment survey of U.S. high-school students (1999 data will be available this summer):
Tobacco use -- Every day, nearly 3,000 young people take up daily smoking. Seventeen percent of students said they smoked cigarettes on 20 or more days during the past month.
Unhealthy dietary behaviors -- Almost three-fourths of high schoolers don't get the recommended servings of fruits and vegetables each day, and 40 percent are trying to lose weight.
Inadequate physical activity -- Daily participation in physical education classes has dropped to 27 percent, and most students report little physical activity on a regular basis.
Alcohol and other drug use -- More than half said they drank alcohol during the past month, and more than a quarter reported using marijuana during the last month.
Sexual behaviors that can result in HIV infection, other sexually transmitted diseases and unintended pregnancies -- Every year, almost 1 million adolescents become pregnant, and about 3 million become infected with an STD. Almost half of high schoolers said they've had sexual intercourse.
Behaviors that may result in intentional injuries (such as violence and suicide) and unintentional injuries (such as motor vehicle crashes) -- Nineteen percent of students said they never used safety belts, 37 percent reported riding with a drunken driver during the past month and another 37 percent had been in a physical fight during the past year.
Studies show that societal institutions have a powerful influence on youth, Kolbe said. Families, schools, religious and community groups, media, employers and government could make a major impact by working together to spread a common message: Reduce risk behaviors.
That's where FPs come into the picture. Kolbe urged family physicians to get involved at the office, in schools, in the community and in legislatures.
Youth pay attention to their physicians' advice, he said. They may not act on it the first time, but they hear what you're saying.
"Family physicians can also counsel family members on how to address risk factors and can be enormously persuasive with other organizations," Kolbe added. "Decision makers really do listen to family physicians."
FP Report is published by the AAFP News Department.
Copyright © 2000 by American Academy of Family Physicians.
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