Despite constant fears that each generation of teens behaves more dangerously than the last, a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests that overall, the kids are all right — at least …
adolescents
Family MattersChildhood
Nearly 1 in 4 U.S. Teens Has Diabetes or Prediabetes
In less than a decade, the proportion of kids ages 12 to 19 with diabetes or prediabetes has jumped from 9% in 1999-2000 to 23% in 2007-2008.
Family MattersAIDS
Pediatricians Group Urges Routine HIV Testing for Teens
This week the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released a policy statement called “Adolescents and HIV Infection.” The title alone garners attention. Teens and HIV?
Two Questions Can Help Doctors Spot Teen Alcohol Problems
Two questions asked during a regular pediatrician’s visit could help identify youth with drinking problems, according to a national expert group convened by the National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA), which …
New Efforts to Crack Down on Residential Programs for Troubled Teens
The first legislation aimed at regulating residential programs for troubled teens was introduced on Thursday in the House and the Senate. The bill would crack down on hundreds of programs housing thousands of teens, many of which …
Exercise Helps Young Smokers Quit
Quitting smoking is one of the healthiest things a person can do, but it’s also among the hardest, especially for teenage smokers who battle not only addiction but also the social pressure to keep lighting up.
The Half-Baked Teen Brain: A Hazard or a Virtue?
Teenagers have a bad reputation. They’re moody, they thrive on drama. They take risks that terrify their parents and seem blithely unaware of the potential consequences of their actions. The reason for this, as scientists have …
Hollywood to Kids: Smoking Isn’t Cool
Were they still alive today, John Wayne and Humphrey Bogart might have been given a serious image makeover. The message from Hollywood last year: smoking in movies is not cool anymore.
Study: Internet Use, but Not TV Watching, Linked to Sleeplessness in Teens
Many studies (along with casual observation in any home with a teenager) have associated nighttime media use — video gaming, Internet surfing and TV time — with sleep deficits in teens. But the latest research fine tunes …
Gay-Friendly Communities Are Good for Straight Teens Too
A spate of suicides involving gay teens last fall reignited concern among youth activists and health experts over the disproportionately high rate of suicide among gay American teens. Now, a survey of high-school students in …
5 Ways Parents May Be Sabotaging Their Kids’ Health
In a recent survey sponsored by the YMCA, 9 out of 10 parents rated themselves as good or excellent at providing a healthy home environment. But there’s something amiss: while 89% of parents think they are providing the right …
Increasingly, Internet Activism Helps Shutter Abusive ‘Troubled Teen’ Boot Camps
For the last 40 years, teens with drug problems, learning disabilities and other behavioral issues have been sent to residential facilities to endure “tough love” techniques that are widely known to include methods of outright …
Will the FDA Ban Menthol Cigarettes?
The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee is due in the coming week to submit to the agency its final report on the health effects of menthol cigarettes. The FDA is considering a ban …