Teenagers are now engaging in fewer risky behaviors than before
Every two years, the CDC performs a survey on all the risky behaviors teenagers engage in. While some activities are no longer as popular as they used to be, young people now enjoy trends that seem harmless. However, they are a lot more dangerous than they seem. Sex and drugs are no longer so popular among teens but, apparently, they are damaging their health by not drinking enough milk.
Teenagers drink less milk than they used to
To keep risky behaviors among teenagers under control, the CDC performs the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System every two years. For this survey, the CDC interviews teenagers from 9th to 12th grade, asking them about their choice of risky behaviors. These include having sex, taking drugs, consuming alcohol, but also trends that might damage their health.
One such trend that might suit the last category is not drinking milk. To stay healthy, teens have to drink three dairy cups per day. In 1999, 18 percent of these youngsters drank the recommended amount of milk. Now, their rate dropped to 7.9 percent. Also, 27 percent of them admitted to drinking no milk during the week.
Milk has plenty of vitamins and minerals necessary for our health. If dairy consumption is decreasing, teens risk getting sick and feeble more often. However, the results might be better from other points of view, as teens have started laying off some other risky behaviors.
Youngsters now engage in fewer risky behaviors
Only 39.5 percent of them declared having sex in the past year, which is quite a big decrease since 1991, when this survey started. From those who had sex, the percentage of sexually active teens in the past three months was still small.
In the end, the survey came with the best news of all. The most dangerous risky behaviors of all, namely alcohol and drug consumption, has been decreasing for the past years. The rate of alcohol-drinking teenagers dropped from 81.6 to 60.4 percent, while the rate of cannabis consumption went from 26.7 percent to 19.8 percent.
It turns out teenagers are saving the risky behaviors for later, or they have just decided to engage in different activities. However, they should not neglect drinking milk and consuming nutritious foods.
Image source: Flickr
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