Pubdate: Sat, 29 Dec 2007 Source: Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (Ontario, CA) Copyright: 2007 Los Angeles Newspaper Group Contact: http://www.dailybulletin.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/871 Referenced: The Monitoring the Future survey http://drugsense.org/url/29ukwQCK Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?225 (Students - United States) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/Monitoring+the+Future REPORT ON YOUTHS LOOKING BETTER There's welcome news about young peoples' healthy choices. The kids (most of them) are all right (mostly). Twenty-first century American teenagers may be pudgier than in the past, but they're less likely to abuse drugs, get drunk, smoke, commit a violent crime or get pregnant. The annual Monitoring the Future survey reported generally good news for eighth-, 10th- and 12th-graders. In particular, eighth-graders are making wiser health choices. In 1996, 21 percent of eighth-graders were smokers; that's dropped to 7 percent. Meanwhile, disapproval of smoking has soared. "If this change in attitude is carried with them throughout the rest of their teen years, we could see a dramatic drop in smoking-related deaths in their generation," said Nora D. Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which co-sponsors the survey. Illegal drug use has been declining steadily for all age groups, led by large drops in the use of methamphetamines and marijuana. However, prescription drug abuse is increasing: 15.4 percent of 12th-graders abuse medications. In addition, binge drinking - five or more drinks in a row in the two weeks before the survey - remains high. An alarming 21.9 percent of 10th-graders and 25.9 percent of 12th-graders admit to a binge. Despite lurid news stories - six Las Vegas students shot at a school bus stop - teen violence rates have declined sharply since the '90s. The teen birth rate, which fell significantly for 14 years, climbed again in 2006. The clearest problem is childhood and teen obesity, which tripled from 1980 to 2000: About 15 percent of young people 6 to 19 years old are overweight. While adult obesity rates have leveled off, kids are still gaining. Many schools are starting to clear high-sugar snacks from the vending machines, serve less macaroni surprise in the cafeteria and ramp up physical education. But there's a limit to what can be done at school or through media campaigns. Children's well-being starts at home, whether through diet or more closely monitoring those prescription drugs. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake