Adolescent Boys

Priority Areas

• Body Image• Nutrition and obesity• Substance Abuse• Violence and safety

Body Image

Statistics

• Played on a sports team– 64% male– White male 65.4%– Black male 67.5%– Hispanic male 56.2%

• Participated in strength exercises (3 or more days every week)

– 60.1% male– White male 60.6%– Black male 59.6%– Hispanic male 59.4%

Affects of the Media

• Low body self esteem

• Disappointed with chest and bicep size due to ads (girls: thighs and hips)

Nutrition and Obesity

Obesity

• 50% of adult weight is added during adolescence

• 17% of male adolescents are already overweight

• 1/3 of all adolescents are at risk of becoming overweight

• Being overweight or obese increases the risk for heart disease, diabetes, asthma, and causes premature death

Nutrition• One of two major causes of obesity

• Healthy, family meals have been replaced by fast-food and junk food

• Only 25% of adolescent males eat 5 or more servings of fruit and veggies a week, when they’re supposed to get that many in a day

• Soda consumption by male teens ahs tripled in the past 20 yrs. from 7oz-19oz

• Eating healthy not only makes them feel better physically, but also helps them get better grades

Physical Inactivity

• 2nd major contributor to obesity

• Besides helping to control weight, it also builds strong bones, reduces risks for many chronic diseases, and reduced feelings of depression

• 10% of adolescents males don’t participate in any form of physical activity

• Teen males who played the most amount of video games and watched the most TV, ate more junk food and had about a 1 point higher BMI

Substance Abuse

Some Statistics

• Almost 65% of boys by 12th grade had smoked cigarettes compared to 22% of girls by the same age.

Alcohol

• Lifetime alcohol use- up to 83% (12th grade)

• Current alcohol use- up to 56% (12th grade)

• Episodic heavy drinking- up to 40% (12th grade)

Marijuana

• Lifetime marijuana useBoys Girls33% 19%

*9th graders

Cocaine

• Current cocaine useBoys Girls5.8% 3.5%

*12th graders

Other Drugs

• Inhalant use, Illegal steroid use, and heroin use all also followed the same pattern.

• Girls were only higher than boys in methamphetamine use.

Statistics

• Offered, Sold or given an illegal drug on school property

Boys Girls32% 25%

Recommendations

• Stricter drug policies and enforcement in schools

• Repetitive and more effective drug education programs in schools

Violence and Safety

Facts

• Boys are more likely than girls to:– have discipline/behavior problems – to be involved in violent crimes– carry weapons to school

• Boys constitute 71% of school suspensions

• Boys are seriously under diagnosed for depression- macho attitudes are linked to depression

Physical Violence

• Physical abuse includes: – hitting, slapping, punching, shoving, kicking,

biting, and hair-pulling. – use of a weapon, such as a club, knife, or gun,

against someone

• Teenage boys are much more likely to use force in order to control their girlfriends, while girls more often act violently in self-defense.

Physical Violence

• In general, African American and Latino boys are more likely than other boys to be involved with crime and violence on school property.

Physical Violence2003

Boys Girls2001

Boys Girls1999

Boys Girls

Physical Fighting

40.5% 25.1%

43.1% 23.9%

44% 27.3%

Injured in physical fighting

5.7% 2.6% 5.2% 2.9% 5.3% 2.8%

Physical fight on school property

17.1% 8.0% 18% 7.2% 18.5% 9.8%

• Statistics from YRBSS, 15,240 participants- 40.5% ≈ 6,172 participants

What causes?

• Insults and disrespect

• Ongoing disagreement

• Someone was hit, pushed, or bumped

• Rumors

• Reputation

• Teased by a bully

Recommendations

• Get them involved with sports, clubs, or different activities

• Pick up a hobby, such as learning guitar

• Educational classes for parents

• Decrease amount of media violence

• Never fight anyone who might be intoxicated

• Don’t carry guns or weapons