Hispanics View Obesity as the Biggest Health Problem for Their Children Hispanically Speaking News
go to original August 22, 2012

Not enough exercise' cited as top children's health concern, obesity second, according to U-M's C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health annual top 10 list. For more information, go to mottnpch.org.

Adults across the U.S. rate not getting enough exercise as the top health concern for children in 2012, according to a new University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health.

In the poll’s annual top 10 list, a nationwide sample of adults were asked to identify the top 10 biggest health concerns for kids in their communities.

For the first time, not enough exercise was rated by most adults at the top of the list (39 percent). That was followed closely by childhood obesity (38 percent) and smoking and tobacco use (34 percent).

The rest of the poll results were: 4). Drug abuse (33 percent), 5). Bullying (29 percent), 6). Stress (27 percent), 7). Alcohol abuse (23 percent), 8). Teen pregnancy (23 percent), 9). Internet safety (22 percent) and 10). Child abuse and neglect (20 percent).

The poll’s results varied based on race/ethnicity:

Hispanic adults were more likely to rate childhood obesity first (44 percent), followed by not enough exercise (38 percent), and also rated drug abuse higher than smoking and tobacco use. Black adults had higher levels of concern about smoking and tobacco use, ranking that most often (43 percent). They also had high levels of concern about racial inequality, ranking it seventh on the list, and gun-related injuries, ranking that ninth. Black and Hispanic adults both identified sexually transmitted infections as a greater concern for kids in their communities than did white adults.

Full report: C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health

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