"Her Life Depends On It III" (HLDOI) is the Women's Sports Foundation's comprehensive report that reviews existing and emerging research on the links between participation in sport and physical activity and the health and well-being of American girls and women. As with the previous editions in 2004 and 2009, this study also confirms that…

Context: Decades of behavioral research suggest that awareness of health threats is a necessary precursor to engage in health promotion and disease prevention, findings that can be extended to the community level. Purpose: We sought to better understand local perspectives on the main health concerns of rural Appalachian communities in order to…

The national Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) monitors priority health risk behaviors that contribute to the leading causes of death, disability, and social problems among youth and adults in the United States. The national YRBS is conducted every two years during the spring semester and provides data representative of 9th through 12th grade…

For generations Pacific Islanders have used kava root and betel nut for a variety of cultural, medicinal, and ceremonial purposes: to overcome social barriers and lubricate social interactions; to cure bodily afflictions; and to accompany traditional and religious rituals. Kava, also known as ava, sakau, and yaqona has a long tradition as a…

This book is divided into three sections. In the first section the health consequences of smoking are delineated. Part two contains discussions of the behavioral and biological aspects of smoking. The final section is devoted to educational opportunities for preventing addiction to tobacco. (JD)

Objectives, activities, instructional methods, and resources are listed for a 10-lesson unit plan for teaching about women's health issues at the secondary school level. Body image, menstrual health, substance abuse, breast and genital cancer, occupational health, pregnancy, and aging are discussed. (CB)

This report focuses on topics and issues related to the global use of tobacco. It consists of an introduction and six major sections. These sections deal with: (1) the epidemic rate at which smoking is spreading, indicating that the global rate has grown nearly 75 percent over the past two decades and is growing at 2.1 percent per year, faster…

The UK has the highest rate of cannabis use among young people worldwide. Dr. Alan Leshner, Director of the National Institute of Drug Abuse reports, "Every year more than 100,000 people, most of them adolescents, seek treatment for their inability to control their marijuana use." According to the Scottish Drug Misuse Statistics in…

Cigarette smoking is a behavior with profound biomedical and psychosocial consequences across the life span. Although it is advertised in terms of youth, beauty, sexual appeal, success and independence, smoking is intimately linked with addiction, disease and death. Smoking has been shown to be a leading contributer to several kinds of cancer,…

To monitor priority health-risk behaviors among youth and young adults, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) developed the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS). The YRBSS includes national, state, territorial, and local school-based surveys of high school students in grades 9-12. In addition, some states, territories,…

In 2004, the Women's Sports Foundation published the first edition of "Her Life Depends On It" (Don Sabo, Kathleen E. Miller, Merrill J. Melnick, and Leslie Heywood). At that time, it was clear that evidence-based research confirmed that regular physical activity and sport provides the critical foundation, in no small part, that allows girls and…

In the United States, nearly two-thirds of all deaths among young people 10-14 years of age result from only five causes: motor-vehicle crashes (22.1%), other unintentional injuries (16.7%), cancer (12.9%), suicide (6.8%), and homicide (4.7%). Leading causes of illness and death in all age groups in the United States are related to the following:…

This collection of papers includes 6 parts. Part 1, "Latino Populations in the United States," includes: (1) "Latino Health Policy: Beyond Demographic Determinism" (Angelo Falcon, Marilyn Aguirre-Molina, and Carlos W. Molina); (2) "Latino Health Status" (Olivia Carter-Pokras and Ruth Enid Zambrana); and (3)…

To monitor priority health-risk behaviors among youth and young adults, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention developed the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS). The YRBSS includes national, state, territory, and local school-based surveys of high school students in grades 9-12. In addition, some states, territories, and cities…