Issue link: http://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/851647
PHYSICIANS AND MEDICAL RESE ARCHERS FACE TREMENDOUS CHALLENGES IN THE ARE A OF PEDIATRICS. RISING R ATES OF OBESIT Y AND WIDESPRE AD DRUG USE AMONG CHILDREN CAN SEEM LIKE INTR ACTABLE PROBLEMS. HERE ARE SOME OF THE TROUBLING STATISTICS. COUNTING THE COST Childhood obesity is linked to enormous healthcare costs. + $194: The increased cost of an outpatient visit for a child who is obese for two straight years, compared with that of a child of normal weight + $3,743: The average yearly cost for health care for an obese child who is covered by private insurance, compared with $1,108 for all children covered by private insurance + $14.1 billion: Annual additional cost of prescrip- tion drugs and emergency room and outpatient visits for overweight and obese children 0 5 10 15 20 5.5% 12.4% 15.9% 16.4% 16.8% 17.5% ASIAN WHITE AMERICAN INDIAN/AL ASK A NATIVE L ATINO BL ACK MULTIPLE R ACE Obesity rates among U.S. high schoolers vary widely by race. A R A C I A L G A P COMPOUNDING THE PROBLEM A study published in Pediatrics revealed that high school students who used synthetic cannabinoids were more likely to have used marijuana before age 13 and also to have used marijuana at least once in the preceding 30 days than those who had used only marijuana. Sources: Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance — United States, 2015; Pediatrics; healthychildren.org, Trust for America's Health; Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; National Institute on Drug Abuse 0 5% 10% 15% 20% 2013–2014 2009–2010 2005–2006 CHILDHOOD OBESITY Once perceived almost exclusively as an adult condition, obesity is affecting increasing percentages of Americans ages 2 to 19. The illustration above shows how obesity rates in that age range rose in recent years. STATE OF THE STATES OBESIT Y A MONG A MERIC A NS 10 TO 17 Y E A RS OLD E XCEEDS 15% IN THE DISTRIC T OF COLUMBI A A ND THE FOLLO W ING STATES: A RAY OF HOPE? From 2012 through 2016, misuse of opioids among high school seniors continued a downward trend, falling from 8.7% to 4.8%. 8.7% 4.8% 15.4 16.9 17.2 Pediatric Health IN PROFILE A l ab ama A r izona A r k ans as C al i f or nia D el a w ar e Ge or gia Ill inois Ken t uck y L ouisiana Mar y l and Mis sis sippi Ne v ada Ne w Hamp shir e Nor t h C ar ol ina Nor t h D ako t a Ohio Ok l ahoma S ou t h C ar ol ina Tenne s s e e Tex as We s t V ir ginia BY STEVE BARRETT 1 4 1 4❱❱❱❱❱ D A T A V A U LT