2009 Survey Focuses on Youth Risk Behaviors

INDIANAPOLIS - State health officials today released data from the 2009 Indiana Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), which focuses on six categories: weight management and dietary behaviors, physical activity, injury and violence, tobacco use, alcohol and other drug use, and sexual behavior.

"I am encouraged by some of the positive behavior changes we are seeing among adolescents, especially in the areas of cigarette consumption, injury prevention, and drug use," said State Health Commissioner Gregory Larkin, M.D.  "However, there are still some very concerning risk behaviors that need to be addressed.

"The Indiana Cancer Control plan and the Indiana Healthy Weight Initiative use YRBS data to measure the levels of physical activity and nutrition behaviors among Indiana teens," said Dr. Larkin.  "Improving physical activity and nutrition is one of the best ways to decrease the burden of cancer and obesity in our community."

Dr. Larkin says the Indiana State Department of Health launched the Indiana Coalition to Improve Adolescent Health in October 2006 to help address some of these risk behaviors.  Facilitated by the State Health Department, the Coalition comprises a variety of youth-serving organizations, including schools and health care providers.  In May 2009 the Coalition released the state's first adolescent health plan.  For more information on the Coalition, visit www.inadolescenthealth.org.

The State Health Department has compiled fact sheets on each of the six categories in the survey, which are available at: www.in.gov/yrbs.  Each fact sheet includes a summary of the data from the 2009 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, including "key points" and "changes in behavior" compared to surveys done in 2003, 2005, and 2007.  For each of the highlighted changes in behaviors, the 2009 data is categorized as showing adolescents as being at "Less Likely," "Just As Likely," or "More Likely" for engaging in behaviors compared to previous years.  Each fact sheet also includes suggested action items for youth-serving organizations to implement to address risk behaviors.

When comparing the 2009 survey to data from surveys from 2003-2007, following are some key findings about Hoosier adolescents:

Weight, Nutrition & Physical Activity:

·         Were just as likely to meet the recommended levels of physical activity, but continued to be more active than other students in the United States;

·         Were less likely to watch TV three or more hours per day during school days;

·         Continued to have a high rate of obesity (well over the national goal of 5 percent), although the rate of obesity in Indiana students decreased by more than 7 percent compared to 2007; and

·         Were less likely to have eaten the recommended five or more servings of fruit and vegetables per day.

Injury and Violence:

·         Were less likely to have ridden in a car driven by someone who had been drinking alcohol;

·         Were more likely to use seat belts when in a car driven by someone else; and

·         Were more likely to have attempted suicide resulting in an injury, poisoning, or overdose that had to be treated by a doctor or nurse.

Tobacco, Alcohol, and Other Drug Use:

·         Were less likely to have ever tried a cigarette, though more than 50% of teens still reported some use during their lifetime;

·         Were less likely to have used methamphetamines at least one time during their life;

·         Were less likely to have consumed at least one drink of alcohol in the past 30 days; this rate was below the national average; and

·         Were more likely to be currently using smokeless tobacco products, like chewing tobacco, snuff, or dip.

Sexual Behavior:

·         Were just as likely to have had sexual intercourse in the past three months, and continued to not meet the national goal of less than 25 percent of students being sexually active;

·         Were just as likely to have ever had sexual intercourse; about half of high school students have had sex at least once.

The Youth Risk Behavior Survey is conducted every two years among a representative group of Indiana students in grades 9-12. Schools are selected at random and must then agree to participate in the survey.  Data from individual students and schools are confidential. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyze the data and then provides the results to each participating state.

"Having these data on adolescent behaviors is invaluable to the State Health Department and all the youth-serving organizations in Indiana," said Dr. Larkin.  "We greatly appreciate the cooperation of the Department of Education and would like to thank all the schools who participated."