<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-15">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.3268" name=GENERATOR></HEAD>
<BODY style="MARGIN: 4px 4px 1px; FONT: 14pt Arial">
<DIV><FONT size=2>FYI - Jennifer</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Compliments of ...</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>*********************************************<BR> Center for Family and Community Health<BR> School of Public Health<BR> University of California, Berkeley<BR> </FONT><A href="http://cfch.berkeley.edu"><FONT size=2>http://cfch.berkeley.edu</FONT></A><BR><FONT size=2> A CDC Center for Chronic Disease Prevention<BR> and Health Promotion Research<BR>*********************************************</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><BR><FONT size=2>Obesity, Lack of Insurance Take Toll on Young Americans</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>CDC annual report on nation's health focuses on those aged 18 to 29</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>HealthDay News, February 19, 2009</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Increased rates of obesity and lack of insurance coverage are among <BR>the many health challenges facing young American adults, according to <BR>just-released statistics.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>A special section on young adults between the ages of 18 and 29 is <BR>featured in the annual report on the nation's health from the U.S. <BR>Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Among its findings:<BR> * In the past three decades, obesity rates among young adults <BR>have tripled, from 8 percent in 1971-74 to 24 percent in 2005-06.<BR> * In 2006, 34 percent of adults ages 20 to 24 were uninsured, <BR>compared to 29 percent of those ages 25 to 29 and 21 percent of those <BR>ages 18 to 19.<BR> * Between 2004 and 2006, 17 percent of young adults reported <BR>needing but not receiving at least one of the following health <BR>services because they couldn't afford them: medical care, <BR>prescription medicines, mental health care, or eyeglasses.<BR> * Between 1999 and 2004, almost 9 percent of adults ages 20 to 29 <BR>reported major depression, generalized anxiety disorder, or panic <BR>disorder within the past year.<BR> * Young adults also have the highest rate of injury-related <BR>emergency department visits of all age groups. And in 2005, <BR>unintentional injuries or accidents, homicide, and suicide accounted <BR>for 70 percent of deaths among young adults.<BR>In addition to the special section on young adults, the report also <BR>found for the population as a whole:<BR> * Life expectancy increased by 3.6 years for men and by 1.9 years <BR>for women between 1990 and 2006. In recent years, death rates for <BR>heart disease, stroke and cancer have continued to decline.<BR> * Between 2003 and 2006, 65 percent of men and 80 percent of <BR>women aged 75 and older reported having high blood pressure or taking <BR>high blood pressure medications, compared to about 36 percent of <BR>adults ages 45 to 54.<BR> * Within the same time frame, cholesterol-lowering drugs helped <BR>reduce the proportion of adults with high cholesterol to 16 percent. <BR>Women aged 55 and older are much more likely than men in that age <BR>group to have high cholesterol.<BR> * About 25 percent of adults aged 60 and older had diabetes in 2003-06.<BR> * While not increasing as rapidly as in the past decade, obesity <BR>rates remain high. More than a third of adults age 20 and older were <BR>obese in 2005-2006.<BR>===</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Top Health Risks for Young Adults</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Accidents Are the Leading Cause of Death; Long-Term Health Risks <BR>Include Smoking, Obesity, Inactivity</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Miranda Hitti, WebMD Health News, Feb. 18, 2009</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Youth is often painted as a time of picture-perfect health, but <BR>that's not necessarily reality, a new CDC report shows.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>The CDC today released its latest roundup of U.S. health statistics, <BR>with a special focus on young adults 18-29.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Highlights of the findings on young adults include:<BR> * Top cause of death: Unintentional injuries, which killed about <BR>40 per 100,000 young adults in 2005.<BR> * <</FONT><A href="http://www.webmd.com/smoking-cessation/default.htm>Smoking"><FONT size=2>http://www.webmd.com/smoking-cessation/default.htm>Smoking</FONT></A><FONT size=2>: <BR>29% of men and 21% of women 18-29 smoke cigarettes as of 2006.<BR> * <</FONT><A href="http://www.webmd.com/diet/tc/obesity-overview>Obesity"><FONT size=2>http://www.webmd.com/diet/tc/obesity-overview>Obesity</FONT></A><FONT size=2>: 24% of <BR>young adults are obese, and 28% more are overweight but not obese as <BR>of 2005-2006. Obesity rates for young adults tripled between <BR>1971-1974 and 2005-2006.<BR> * Regular <BR><</FONT><A href="http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/guide/default.htm>physical"><FONT size=2>http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/guide/default.htm>physical</FONT></A><FONT size=2> <BR>activity: Only 36% of young adults get regular physical activity in <BR>their spare time as of 2005-2006. That's better than the rate for <BR>older adults but below national goals.<BR> * <BR><</FONT><A href="http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/guide/health-fitness-get-strong>Strength"><FONT size=2>http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/guide/health-fitness-get-strong>Strength</FONT></A><FONT size=2> <BR>training at least twice per week: Done by only 26% of young adults in <BR>2005-2006.<BR> * No health insurance: About a third of young adults 20-24 were <BR>uninsured in 2006.<BR>The new CDC report, which is more than 600 pages long, isn't only <BR>about young adults. Here's a quick look at some of the health stats <BR>for the nation as a whole:<BR> * Life expectancy is up. As the CDC first reported last year, <BR>life expectancy for babies born in 2006 is 78.1 years, a record high. <BR>Life expectancy is still lower for men than for women and for <BR>African-Americans than for whites, but those gaps are narrowing. And <BR>among 37 countries and territories that submitted life expectancy <BR>data in 2004, the U.S. ranked 23rd for men and 25th for women (Hong <BR>Kong was No. 1 for men and Japan was No. 1 for women.)<BR> * Top causes of death: Deaths from <BR><</FONT><A href="http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/default.htm>heart"><FONT size=2>http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/default.htm>heart</FONT></A><FONT size=2> disease, <BR>stroke, and cancer continue to drop but are still the nation's top <BR>three causes of death.<BR> * Obesity: Still rising, but more slowly than in past decades. <BR>More than one-third of adults aged 20 and older are obese as of 2005-2006.<BR> * Aging: People aged 75 and older made up 6% of the national <BR>population in 2006 and their ranks will double by 2050, the CDC predicts.<BR>SOURCES:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>CDC: "Health, United States, 2008."<BR></FONT><A href="http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/hus.htm"><FONT size=2>http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/hus.htm</FONT></A><BR></DIV></BODY></HTML>