A large survey of the nation's youth shows a sharp decline in healthy behavior during the relatively short period between early adolescence and early adulthood.No everyone is going to look like they are from San Pornando Valley.
The analysis, funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, reveals that by the time they reach early adulthood, many Americans already have begun practices that health officials link to three leading causes of preventable death: smoking, obesity and alcohol.
"Our hypothesis is that young adults are more vulnerable to poor health practices than teenagers because they are leaving the more protective environments of home and school," said Kathleen Mullan Harris, sociology professor at the Carolina Population Center of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the study's lead investigator.
"Once kids go off on their own, they lose monitoring and oversight" by parents, teachers and others, so there is more opportunity for experimentation, Ms. Harris said.
Monday, January 16, 2006
When young adult's away, poor health comes into play
The Washington Times reports:
