15.6% Of Hawaii's Public High School Students Obese - 5,600 Students Attempted Suicide Within Past Year

Main Category: Pediatrics / Children's Health
Also Included In: Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness;  Psychology / Psychiatry;  Depression
Article Date: 18 Nov 2008 - 5:00 PST

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The latest Department of Health (DOH) data report on youth shows that an estimated 7,300 of Hawai'i's public high school students are obese (15.6%). Additionally, an estimated 5,600 students reported attempting suicide within the past year, a statistic that shows Hawai'i's youth are at greater risk than the national average. However, the findings of the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) showed Hawai'i youth's decline in risky health behaviors, such as tobacco, alcohol and other drug use. "While the survey shows Hawai'i's youth are doing well overall, we are concerned as public health professionals about some key findings, particularly, poor nutrition, obesity and youth suicide," stated Director of Health Chiyome Fukino, M.D. "These results show us that we need to continue to stress primary prevention in the community and classrooms."

Overall Hawai'i's high school students report drinking less milk, eating fewer fruits and vegetables, and being less physically active than students in the U.S. mainland. (See attached Table 1.) Data from the YRBS illustrates the need for the continued implementation of policies and programs that promote good nutrition and physical activity.

The DOH Healthy Hawai'i Initiative continues to provide funding and support for nutrition and physical activity prevention and education strategies with schools, communities and the statewide health promotion media campaign, Start Living Healthy. The DOH has partnered with the Department of Education to create and track the implementation of the Wellness Guidelines which help to create school environments that make eating healthy and being physically active easier.

The percentage of Hawai'i's youth who contemplated suicide has decreased significantly since 1993 (27.8% in 1993 versus 18.5% in 2007). However, the percentage of Hawai'i's youth who have contemplated suicide remains consistently higher than the U.S. average (14.5%). Moreover, the percentage of Hawai'i youth who actually attempted suicide remains higher than the U.S. average (12% versus 6.9%).

In response to the comparatively higher risk reported by Hawai'i youth, the DOH developed the Suicide Prevention Program. Since its inception, the program has worked with its community partners to develop, implement and evaluate strategies to prevent suicide, especially among youth. Established in October 2006, a statewide system to train gatekeepers in the Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASSIST) has 46 trainers and over 475 trained gatekeepers across all islands. Last month, the DOH received a $1.5 million grant ($500,000 per year for three years) from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) for youth suicide prevention and early intervention projects. Additionally the DOH is hosting the 2nd Annual Statewide Suicide Prevention Conference on Friday, November 21, 2008. Many of the sessions will focus on how to address the needs of teens at risk for suicide.

The YRBS is an important tool to identify focus areas for prevention and treatment efforts; there is no other tool that monitors the multitude of health risk behaviors of Hawai'i's youth on a regular basis. The YRBS is completed every other year with the next administration to be conducted in Spring 2009. Parents are notified several weeks prior to the survey date in their school, and parents are encouraged to sign the parental consent form, so their child can participate in the survey. For the full report on the YRBS visit www.hawaii.gov/health.



Department of Health Hawai'i
http://healthuser.hawaii.gov/health