June 10, 2008
CDC Reports Results from 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Survey

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, today's teens are making healthier choices than teens did 15 years ago. According to
the 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), high schoolers are reporting more healthy behaviors in 2007 than in 1991. For example, in 2007, 11.1% of students reported not wearing a seatbelt while riding in a car compared to 25.9% in 1991; 20% of students reported smoking a cigarette on at
least one day in the previous 30 days in 2007 compared to 27.5% in 1991. According to Howell Wechsler, director of CDC's Division of Adolescent and School Health, “We are pleased that more high school students today are doing things that will help them stay healthy and avoiding things that put their
health in danger.”

For more data from the YRBS report, go to: www.cdc.gov/yrbs.