INDIANAPOLIS — A new report on the biggest threats to the health and well-being of Indiana's adolescents says the state's public health system needs to do a better job helping young people avoid unhealthy habits that can last a lifetime.
The 72-page report released Wednesday by the Indiana Coalition to Improve Adolescent Health identifies 10 key issues facing residents between the ages of 10 and 24, who comprise nearly a quarter of the state's population.
Among other findings, it concludes that schools, health care providers, community centers and others need to find more effective ways of steering young people away from binge drinking, smoking, and eating and exercise habits that lead to obesity.
State Health Commissioner Judy Monroe said the leading causes of death, disability and disease among Indiana children and young adults are all related to preventable behaviors.
“Remembering our own adolescence, we know this was an impressionable stage in life and the time in which many health habits and behaviors were formed,” Monroe said in the report.
Among preventable behaviors that can lead to illness or death, the single most devastating category is motor vehicle fatalities, which the report said accounted for 32 percent of all deaths of Indiana residents ages 10-24 in 2005.
The report called for the various entities whose work affects the health and well-being of youths to work to reduce auto fatalities, binge drinking, smoking, obesity, suicide, sexually transmitted diseases and dating violence.
It also called for increasing the number of young people with health insurance, boosting the quality of their health care and expanding access to mental health services.
Monroe said she urges “anyone concerned about the health and welfare of our youth to take the time to review this health plan and find a part you can act upon.”
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