Teen Health

Teens Safer Behind Wheel, but Too Many Texting

The Good and the Bad

Here is a selection of the report's findings:

• 87.5% of teen bicyclists rarely or never wear helmets.
• Nearly 10% of teens had been physically abused by a boyfriend or girlfriend.
• Eight percent had been forced to have sex.
• One out of five students had been bullied at school.
• Nearly 16% of students had considered suicide, and nearly 8% attempted suicide in the previous 12 months.
• Eighteen percent of students said they had smoked cigarettes in the previous month. Twenty-three percent had smoked marijuana.
• Nearly 40% of teens report drinking alcohol recently, compared to 50% 10 years ago.
• One in five students had taken prescription drugs such as Ritalin and OxyContin without a prescription.
• One-third of students report being sexually active. Sixty percent of them use condoms. About 13% use no protection at all.
• Thirteen percent of students missed breakfast every day in the seven days prior to the survey.
• Just under 50% of students got 60 or more minutes of exercise five days a week.
• The number of teens who have had asthma rose from 18.9% to 23% between 2003 and 2011. About 12% say they have it now.
• About 11% of teens report regularly using sunscreen, while 13% have used an indoor tanning bed at least once over the past year.