Hispanic American youth highest for risky health behavior

America’s teenagers are finally cleaning up their lifestyle, except Hispanic high schoolers.

A CDC survey looking at trends from 1991 to 2007 found that health behavior has been improving for much of America’s youth, such as in these areas – cigarette smoking, use of alcohol, unprotected sex, carrying weapons, drug use and even seat belt use.

However, an alarming trend was seen among Hispanic teenagers. Many of Hispanics remain at greater risk than white and black students in several categories looked at. They are more likely than whites or blacks to use drugs, drink alcohol on school property, attempt suicide, have unprotected sex, have unhealthy weight loss practices, and ride with someone who has been drinking. Hispanic students also showed the least improvement over time. For example, “lifetime sexual activity or intercourse”, and HIV/AIDS education remained unchanged between 1991 and 2007.

Unfortunately, the research did not cover why these trends are such, but at least getting these data out will help with better intervention and education in the future. The study also did not look at Asians which I thought are a large enough group to include.

source: MedpageToday /MMWR PDF; image: flickr