Drug Abuse, Obesity are Adults’ Top Health Concerns About Children

U.S. adults say drug abuse and obesity are the biggest concerns about children’s health in their communities, a new survey finds. Conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan’s C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, the survey found most of the top 10 health concerns are related to risky behaviors for youth, including drug, alcohol and tobacco use.

The Epoch Times reports 33 percent of adults said childhood obesity and drug abuse are the biggest problems among youth in their community. The survey found 25 percent said smoking and tobacco use was the greatest health issue, while 20 percent chose alcohol abuse. Other top health problems included teen pregnancy, bullying, internet safety, stress, driving accidents and sexting.

“The perception of drug abuse as a big problem matches recent national data showing increasing use of marijuana and other drugs by U.S. teens,” Matthew Davis, MD, Director of the National Poll on Children’s Health and Associate Professor in the Child Health Evaluation and Research Unit at the University of Michigan Medical School, said in a news release.

Drug abuse was seen as a bigger problem by black and Hispanic adults compared with white adults, the survey found: 44 percent of black adults and 49 percent of Hispanic adults ranked drug abuse as the number one problem among youth, compared with 28 percent of white adults. The survey included 2,130 adults.