Understanding Adolescent Health Behaviors: The Healthy Class of 2010

Adolescent health-compromising behaviors (e.g., physical inactivity, poor dietary habits, and tobacco use) can persist into adulthood and contribute to the development of chronic disease and mortality. Programs that target these behaviors can help sustain healthy lifestyles through the adolescent years and beyond. In an effort to address the adolescent obesity epidemic, The Healthy Class of 2010 project currently examines the nutrition practices, levels/types of physical activity, body weight, tobacco use, and general health behaviors among urban high school students until their graduation in 2010. A 63-item survey was administered to 201 high school students. The questions were derived from previously validated health surveys, including the Centers for Disease Control's School Health Index. The mean age of the students was 15 years. Fifty-three percent were male and 47% were female. The majority of the students were white/Caucasian (60%) followed by black/African American (31%), Hispanic/Latino (1.5%), other (7.5%). Ninety percent of the students participated in physical education classes 3 days/week. Most students (65%) ate fruits and vegetables 1-3 times/week. Fifty-three percent do not smoke cigarettes. These results suggest that a significant proportion of the students exercise yet, their fruit and vegetable consumption is far less than the national standard of >5 servings/day. Smoking does not appear to be a priority health-compromising behavior. School-based interventions that focus on healthy eating, exercise, and cardiovascular risk reduction can significantly alter the trajectory toward chronic disease and mortality in adulthood.