Survey: R.I. teenagers make healthier choices

PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island teens compare favorably to their peers in other states when it comes to tobacco use, alcohol consumption, fighting, prescription-drug use, unsafe sexual behaviors and soda consumption.
Released by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the 2013 Youth Risk Behavior Survey also said Rhode Island teens were less likely to watch television three or more hours a day, be obese, or be depressed, and were more likely to wear a bike helmet and attend physical-education classes than their national peers.
The R.I. Department of Health said the survey presented “encouraging news.” Several health-risk behaviors decreased between 2007 and 2013. Among those behaviors:
• Alcohol drinking fell from 43 percent to 31 percent.
• Students not wearing seat belts fell from 14 percent to 6 percent.
• Sexually active students fell from 33 percent to 27 percent.
• Occasional smoking decreased from 15 percent to 8 percent.
• Daily smoking decreased from 12 percent to 6 percent.
• Dating violence decreased from 14 percent to 8 percent.
The health department said there were several areas of concern, including suicide attempts among youths, lack of daily physical activity and unsafe weight-loss practices. •