MINNESOTA
DEPARTMENT OF
HEALTH
DID YOU
Adolescent Health E News
KNOW?
D E C E M B E R
•
Adolescents who
consume little to
no white milk gain
significantly more
weight than adolescents who consume white milk
(page 1)
•
Female youth continue to bear the
burden of common
STDs (page 1)
•
Positive parent/
adolescent relationships and family dinner routines
are linked to delayed sex among
adolescents. page
2)
•
Facebook announces the new
Facebook Safety
Advisory Board
(page 2)
•
MDH Workshop
on Vision and
Hearing Screening
(page 3)
•
•
The TAC is now
available in Spanish
(page 4)
If you want to
subscribe to this
newsletter, please
email support@govdelivery.
com or go to the
following website:
http://
www.health.state.
mn.us/youth/
newsletters.html
2 0 0 9
Adolescent Beverage Habits
A study by Michelle Vanselow
and colleagues from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health and Department of
Medicine examined the association between beverage intake
and changes in body mass index
(BMI) among adolescents over a
5-year period.
Beverage consumption is one
dietary factor of child and adolescent obesity that has recently
begun receiving increased attention. According to the authors
of the study, beverages are currently contributing more calories
and a larger percentage of daily
energy intake than at any other
point in time in history.
Data for this study came from
Project EAT and Project EAT II.
“Project EAT is an ongoing prospective cohort study examining
eating and weight-related issues
in adolescents ages 11 to 15. A
diverse population of 4746 adolescents from various backgrounds in 31 public middle and
high schools in the Minneapolis/
St. Paul metropolitan area of
Minnesota participated in Project
EAT-1 during the 1998-1999
school year. Project EAT II is a
follow-up study aimed at resurveying all the original participants in Project EAT-1 five years
later (2003-2004) to assess
changes in eating patterns and
weight status as participants
moved from adolescence to
adulthood.
The authors found no association between sugar-sweetened
beverage consumption, juice
consumption and adolescent
weight gain. They also found that
adolescents who consumed little
or no white milk gained significantly more weight than adolescents who consumed white milk.
Vanselow MC, Pereira MA, Neumark-Sztainer D, et al. Adolescent beverage habits and changes
in weight over time: Findings
from Project EAT. American
Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
2009; 90: 1489-1495.
The Burden of STDs Among Female Youth
The CDC report Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance 2008,
which tracks reported cases of
chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis in the United States, revealed
that female youth continue to
bear a major burden of common
sexually transmitted diseases.
More than 1.5 million cases of
chlamydia and gonorrhea were
reported in 2008. Adolescent
females ages 15 to 19 years of
age had the largest number of
reported chlamydia and gonorrhea cases when compared to
any other age group, followed
closely by women ages 20 to 24
years of age.
There is also a disproportionate
impact on racial minorities, especially among young African
American females. Gonorrhea
rates among African Americans
are higher than any other racial
or ethnic group, and 20 times
higher than that of Whites.
Among African American
women, females ages 15 to 19
years of age had the highest
rates of chlamydia and gonorrhea.
“While adolescent males have
similar prevalence of STDs,
biological differences place females at a greater risk for STDs
than males. Additionally, the
health consequences are more
severe among females than
males for chlamydia and gonorrhea. Left untreated, it is estimated that 10-20 percent of
chlamydia or gonorrhea infections in women can result in
pelvic inflammatory disease,
ectopic pregnancy and infertility”.
The full report can be accessed
at http://www.cdc.gov/std/stats/
PAGE
2
“Adolescents need
The Role of Parents in Adolescent’s
Decision about Sex
According to a new Child
Trends research brief, positive
parent/adolescent relationships, high parental awareness
and monitoring of who their
children are with, and family
dinner routines are all linked
to delayed sex among adolescents. The brief, “Parents
Matter: The Role of Parents in
Teen’s Decision about Sex”,
explores how parenting practices that occur before adolescents have had sexual intercourse are associated with the
probability of first sex by age
16. This research study was
based on data from the National Longitudinal Survey of
Youth.
Among the Findings:
•
“Better parent-adolescent
relationships are associated with reduced risk of
early sexual experience
among adolescent females.”
•
“Adolescent males who
eat dinner with their
family every day have a
lower probability of having sex before age 16
(31%), compared to males
who ate with their family
four days a week or less
(37%). No significant
association was found for
females on this measure.
•
“Adolescents whose parents are more aware of
whom they are with
when they are not home
are less likely to have sex
by age 16.”
These findings highlights the
importance of parents in adolescents’ lives. The full research brief can be found at
http://www.childtrends.org/
Files//Child_Trends2009_11_11_RB_Parents&Tee
nSex.pdf
Facebook Enhances
to be surrounded
by safe places,
challenging
experiences and
caring people to
develop in healthy
ways.”
-Minnesota’s
Adolescent Health
Action Plan
Facebook is an online social
networking company whose
mission is to give people the
power to share and make
the world more open and
connected. Facebook is also
becoming a leader in creating
technology that connects
youth with people, communities and educational opportunities.
On December 6th, the Facebook corporation announced the formation of
the Facebook Safety Advisory Board to address internet safety.
The advisory board
consists of 5 leading
internet safety organizations from
North America and
Europe, who plan to
meet regularly with Face-
ADOLESCENT
HEALTH
E
NEWS
book to review the existing
safety resources provided to
users and provide general
safety best practices. The
first task of the advisory
board will be to oversee the
current safety content located in Facebook’s Help
Center. The goal of this
project is to create a comprehensive resource with
specific educational information for educators, parents,
and youth.
Beyond the creation of the
Facebook Safety Advisory
Taskforce, the corporation
has taken many aggressive
steps to address internet
safety for youth. Earlier this
month, Facebook was cited
by the New York Attorney
General’s Office for identifying and disabling the ac-
counts of registered sex
offenders.
The company is currently
partnering with MTV on the
campaign “A Thin Line” to
prevent digital abuse, and
worked last month with BBC
to promote its “Bullyproof”
campaign to end cyber bullying.
The full news release, and
more information on the
organizations involved on the
Facebook Safety Advisory
Board, can be accessed at
http://www.prnewswire.com/
news-releases/facebook-toenhance-user-safety-throughformation-of-global-advisoryboard-78656592.html
PAGE
3
“As young
people navigate
the changes of
adolescence, it is
critical that they
Approach to Reduce Text-Messaging While
Driving
This Holiday season, Allstate,
an auto insurance company,
is traveling on a 30-city tour
“X the Text” to raise awareness about the dangers of
text-messaging while driving.
Texting while driving is one
of the most dangerous distractions facing adolescents
today. According to a recent
study by The Allstate Foundation, 82 percent of driving
adolescents report using cell
phones while driving, and 49
percent admit to being extremely distracted by text
messaging while driving.
Allstate’s cause “Thumbs Up
to the Safest Holiday ever”,
has been created to save the
lives of adolescents during
this holiday season. The holidays are one of the deadliest
times for adolescent drivers.
To combat this epidemic,
Allstate has established this
cause to benefit the National
Organization for Youth
Safety (NOYS).
“NOYS is a collaborative
network of national organizations and federal agencies
that serve youth and focus on
youth safety and health.
Through this network, NOYS
influences more than 80 million young people ages 5 to
24 . Their vision is to be the
premier national youth health
and safety coalition and their
mission is to promote youth
empowerment and leadership
and to build partnerships that
will save lives, prevent injuries, and promote safe and
healthy lifestyles among all
youth. NOYS is a longstanding
leader in developing programs to
promote youth traffic safety.”
Allstate will donate $1 dollar to
the National Organization for
Youth Safety to sponsor safe adolescent driving programs for each
participant who joins the cause,
and pledges to not text and drive.
So far 7,249 people have joined.
Join by taking the pledge online
and committing to being safer
behind the wheel at: http://
apps.facebook.com/causes/395301
Anyone who signs the pledge will
also get a ring to remind them
not to test while driving.
More information on the National
Organization for Youth Safety can
be found at http://www.noys.org
receive the
guidance, support
and
Seminars/ Trainings
encouragement
that fosters
MDH Workshop on Hearing and Vision Screening
healthy
January 13: 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
development.”
Lyon County Auditor
Treasurer Office
-Minnesota’s
Adolescent Health
Action Plan
607 West Main Street Rm 4&5
The workshop covers best
practices for hearing and vision
screenings, including recent
updates and guidelines for
referral. Additionally, a practicum is included with return
demonstrations by the participants.
Marshall, MN, 56258
What this involves:
Registration Fee: $84.00
This workshop is designed for individuals
who perform hearing
and vision
ADOLESCENT
Registration information can
be found at http://
www.health.state.mn.us/divs/
fh/mch/hlth-vis/trainings/
index.html
screenings for Early
Childhood Screening,
Sexuality Education Residency Workshop
Child and Teen Checkups, Schools, and other
child health screenings.
Minneapolis
HEALTH
E
Sexuality Education Residency
for pre-service teachers in
Minneapolis, MN in January.
The residency is a skills-based
experience designed to prepare future educators with
tools and knowledge that promote adolescent sexual health.
NEWS
The Birds & Bees Project will
be holding the nation's only
A 35-hour training held on
January 7-8, and 15-16, 2010;
A 20-hour field experience
paired with a health educator;
Participation in 3 half-day seminars; & optional conference
attendance
More information and the
application can be found at
www.birdsandbees.org
PAGE
4
Resources
Spanish Version of The
TAC
The TAC, Tool to Assess the
Characteristics of Effective Sex
and STD/HIV Education Programs, based on Dr. Douglas
Kirby’s research on common
characteristics of evaluated
HIV, STD and teen pregnancy prevention curricula is
now available is Spanish.
The TAC is recommended
to guide program selection,
improvements, adaptations,
and development.
The TAC is available for
download at http://
healthyteennetwork.org/
index.asp?Type=B_PR&SEC=
{2AE1D600-4FC6-4B4D8822-F1D5F072ED7B}&DE=
{B3E92693-FE7D-4248-965F6AC3471B1E28}
National Data on
Adopted Children and
their Families
representative survey of
adoptive parents in the
United States. The chartbook describes the characteristics, adoption experiences, and well-being of
adopted youth and their
families.
Access the chartbook at
http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/09/
NSAP/chartbook/
“The chartbook Adoption
USA: A Chartbook based on the
2007 National Survey of Adoptive Parents presents the findings from the first national
Grants
“Investment in
health during
adolescences has
long-term
benefits.”
-Minnesota’s
Adolescent Health
Action Plan
American Association of
University Women Community Action Grants
Deadline: January 15,
2010
Community Action Grants
are providing funds for innovative programs or nondegree research projects
that promote education and
equity for women and girls.
Grant projects must have
direct public impact, be nonpartisan, and take place
within the United
States or its territories. Special consideration is given to
projects focused on
K-12 and community
college girls' and
women's achievements in science,
technology, engineering or
math.
ADOLESCENT
HEALTH
E
NEWS
One year grants of up to
$7,000 and two year grants
of up to $10,000 are available. Individuals, American
Association of University
Women branches and state
organizations, and local community-based nonprofit organizations are encouraged
to apply.
https://
researchfunding.duke.edu/
detail.asp?OppID=3639
Wells Fargo Foundation Education and Health
and Human Services
Grants
Deadline: Rolling
The Wells Fargo Foundation
provides support to nonprofit organizations focusing
on education and health and
human services, with special
emphasis on the elimination
of the “achievement gap”;
increasing access to higher
education for underrepresented groups; and ensuring
access to both health education programs and quality
healthcare for individuals and
families.
Guidelines and funding
amounts for states in which
the Foundation invests in
vary. Eligible applicants include nonprofit organizations
with 501(c)(3) status. Visit
https://www.wellsfargo.com/
about/charitable/ and click on
your state to review detailed
submission instructions.
Please contact the Wells
Fargo Foundation for more
information and to apply for
this funding: https://
www.wellsfargo.com/about/
charitable/
A Vision for Healthy Adolescence:
Our responsibility as the community of Minnesota
Minnesota Department of Health
Jennifer O’Brien
Adolescent Health Coordinator
Minnesota Department of Health
P.O. Box 64882
is to support and guide Minnesota youth in the
healthy development of being, belonging and becoming. This requires a focus on wholeness and
wellness, and seeing Minnesota youth as “at
promise” rather than “at risk”.
St Paul, MN 55164-0882
Phone: 651-201-3627
Fax: 651-201-3590
E-mail: [email protected]
For more information on Minnesota’s Adolescent Health Action Plan, contact Jennifer
O’Brien or go to the Adolescent Health Gate-
http://www.health.state.mn.us/youth/
way page.
To subscribe...
If you want to subscribe to
this newsletter, please email
[email protected]
or go to the following website: http://
www.health.state.mn.us/
youth/newsletters.html
For copies of any of the articles featured in this newsletter, please contact
MDH’s Barr Library. The
Barr Library has a quality
collection of public health
books, journals, and videos.
The library provides lending, reference, interlibrary
loan, and other services to
Minnesota Department of
Health staff, local tribal,
county, or city public health
professionals, school health
practitioners, and employees of both the Minnesota
Board of Nursing and the
Minnesota Department of
Human Services. The Barr
Library also provides interlibrary loan services to the
Minnesota Department of
Agriculture:
[email protected]
or 651-201-5090