The importance of good nutrition and exercise is well known, and parents have long worried about their children's diets and envied their high energy levels. Like so many life style habits, patterns of nutrition and exercise behaviors are typically established in early childhood. Poor diet and lack of exercise contribute to obesity, which has been…

Today's generation of American children may be the first to have a lower life expectancy than their parents. Childhood obesity has increased 35% in the past 10 years. Carrying excess weight for years can lead to high cholesterol, high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke and premature death. For the first time, there are…

To monitor priority health-risk behaviors among youth and young adults, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) developed the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS). The YRBSS includes national, state, territorial, and local school-based surveys of high school students in grades 9-12. In addition, some states, territories,…

The "Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report" ("MMWR") Series is prepared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Data in the weekly "MMWR" are provisional, based on weekly reports to CDC by state health departments. This issue of "MMWR" contains the following studies: (1) Youth Risk Behavior…