Healthy Adolescents Introduction
The transitional years of adolescence pose special challenges for
establishing good health habits. Compared to other states, Colorado’s
adolescents score relatively well on nutrition, exercise and weight,
good mental health and avoiding risky sexual behaviors.
Too many, however,
binge drink and smoke, and the number of births
to teenage mothers, while lower than in
the past, is still higher than in most states.
Underlying all this is the same lack of health
insurance—14
percent have none—found among younger children. Addressing these
issues will enable Colorado’s
adolescents to enter adulthood with good health
and good health habits.
Healthy
Adolescents: Health Indicators
and Rank among states
Health Indicator |
Rank
among states |
| 14.1 percent of
adolescents are not covered by private or public
health insurance |
41 |
| 10.3 percent of
adolescents live in families with incomes below
the federal poverty level |
14 |
| 19.2 percent of
adolescents ate five or more servings per day
of fruits and/or vegetables during the past seven
days |
16 |
| 70.1
percent of adolescents participated
in vigorous physical activity on three or more
of the past seven days |
5 |
| 9.8
percent of adolescents are overweight |
8 |
| 30.6
percent of adolescents had five or
more drinks of alcohol in a row on one or more
of the past 30 days |
41 |
| 18.7
percent of adolescents smoked cigarettes
on one or more of the past 30 days |
18 |
| 25.0
percent of adolescents felt so sad
or hopeless almost every day for two consecutive
weeks during the past 12 months that they stopped
doing some usual activities |
9 |
| 6.7
percent of adolescents attempted suicide
one or more times during the past 12 months |
7 |
| 29.5
percent of adolescents were sexually
active in the past three months |
6 |
| Among
students who had sexual intercourse during the
past three months, 69.3 percent reported
using a condom during last sexual intercourse |
5 |
| Teen fertility
rate (43.9 births to teen
mothers per 1,000 teenage women) |
36 |
Average Rank |
17.1 |
Average
Grade |
B- |
|
