Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/1146796
Pediatric Profile BY STEVE BARRETT DECLINING CIGARETTE USE Less sleep is associated with reduced insulin sensitivity among teens during the academic year, according to a study in The Journal of Pediatrics. The study, of 31 obese or overweight adolescents, detected insulin resistance with compensatory insulin secretion among participants who slept less than 6.6 hours per night. Lead author Stacey Simon, PhD, recom - mends strategies for physicians and parents to help ensure teens get adequate sleep: + Evaluate teens' sleep patterns dur- ing checkups. + Promote quality sleep as equal in importance to other healthy activities. + Emphasize the benefit of consis - tent bedtimes. + Remove electronic devices that hinder healthy sleep. n PEDIATRIC OBESITY: 1 IN 5 HIGH SCHOOLERS MIDDLE SCHOOLERS 5% 10% 15% 2011 15.8% 2018 8.1% 2018 1.8% 2011 4.3% Roughly one-fifth of Americans ages 6–19 are obese. THE SLEEP IMPERATIVE Sources: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, CDC, Children's National Health System, The Journal of Pediatrics CHILDREN AGES 6–11: 18.4% ADOLESCENTS AGES 12–19: 20.6% Firearm Injuries and the ER Almost two-thirds of the approximately 22,000 children and youths treated in ERs in the U.S. each year for gun-related injuries were involved in accidental shootings. An additional 30% were assault victims. BEHAVIORS THAT AFFECT PEDIATRIC HE ALTH SHIF T ALONGSIDE CHANGING MORES AND BROADER CULTUR AL TRENDS. FOR E X AMPLE, CIGARE T TE SMOKING AMONG YOUTHS FELL IN RECENT YE ARS A S TOBACCO USE BECAME LESS ACCEPTABLE, AND PEDIATRIC OBESIT Y HA S RISEN IN THE WAKE OF HIGHER R ATES OF ADULT OBESIT Y. THE DATA BELOW UNDERSCORE THE NEED FOR FRESH CLINICAL APPROACHES AND HIGHLIGHT ENDURING CHALLENGES FOR PEDIATRICIANS. 0 2