Today’s teenagers have been stereotyped as adventurous and harebrained individuals.  They are generally fond of experimenting with things until they get in touch with drugs, sex, guns, alcohol among others. According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention figures, 16,000 young adults die each year from unintentional injuries and accidents.  The most common justification for teenagers’ care-free attitude is that their brains just aren’t developed enough to know better. However, recent research shows that in some cases the fact is just the opposite, the brain matures not too slowly but perhaps, too quickly.

According to a psychiatrist, an adolescent who engages in more dangerous activities have white-matter pathways that seem to be more mature than those of risk-averse youths.  White-matter is the brain’s wiring, the neutral pathways that connect the various gray-matter regions of the cerebrum that are independent of one another.  Having a mature white-matter is necessary because it allows faster brain processing speed.  Nerve impulses also travel faster in mature white-matter. Experiments also reveal that the more mature the look of the brain, the more adventurous the teenager tended to be.
Another possible explanation is that some teenagers whose brains develop more rapidly than others become uncomfortable and a little confused owing to the gap between their biological capabilities and the social norms they must follow as kids. Precocious development of these neural tracts may make some adolescents more susceptible to engage in behaviors that society considers too adult in nature for their chronological age. It is also a common notion that teens make dumb decisions because their brains are immature. In other words, having a more mature brain may actually motivate some teens to try out new and potentially harmful experiences.
For now, these theories are mere speculation, and the researchers concede that the interaction of white and gray matter is so complex that hard conclusions remain elusive. The results of the study are relatively bare and by no means conclusive. The human brain is so intricate in nature, and one has to consider the fact that there are other factors that come into play such as the environment and certain genetic predispositions that are equally complex to study.

Smoking by teenagers fell sharply and steadily between 1997 and 2003, but the latest data from a federal survey tracking smoking and other risky behaviors among young people found the proportion of teens who smoke leveled off between 2003 and 2007.

The survey did show continued declines in some groups, most notably African-American girls. But overall, the downward trend seems to have stopped.

The data released last week come from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, a nationally representative survey that the federal government conducts of students in grades 9-12 every two years to track a variety of risk behaviors, including drug, alcohol and tobacco use.

The proportion of students who smoke soared from 27.5 percent in 1991 to 36.4 percent in 1997 but then began to fall, hitting 21.9 percent in 2003. The 2005 survey, however, showed the rate had crept up to 23 percent. Because that change was not statistically significant, officials were waiting for the 2007 figures to determine whether the downward trend had actually stalled.

The 2007 figure is slightly lower at 20 percent, but again, the figure is not statistically significant.

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More than half of American teens say they’ve consumed alcohol, and more than 40 percent of those children say they sometimes get their alcohol free from an adult, a new federal survey found.

Among the country’s estimated 10.8 million underage drinkers, more than 40 percent said they got alcohol free from an adult during the past month. One in four said they got the alcohol from an unrelated adult, one in 16 got it from a parent or guardian, and one in 12 got the alcohol from a family member, according to the survey.

The survey, Underage Alcohol Use: Findings From the 2002-2006 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health, was a nationwide review based on data from the National Surveys on Drug Use and Health, and included a random sample of 158,000 people 12 to 20 years old.

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Continual aggressive behavior from childhood through late adolescence is a significant predictor of adult alcohol use and abuse, a new University of Michigan study indicates.

In comparison to childhood and adolescent aggression, some variables often thought of as risk factors, such as problems in the family and parents’ poor educational background, are weak predictors of children drinking alcohol later in life as adults, said the study’s lead author Eric Dubow, an adjunct research scientist at U-M’s Institute for Social Research.

U-M researchers used data from the Columbia County Longitudinal Study, a 40-year project of the development of aggression and competence across generations. The study sampled third graders in Columbia County, NY in 1960, then age 8, until 2000 when they were age 48.

Data collected on the study’s participants included measures of aggression, popularity, and IQ tests at age 8; assessment of aggression, popularity, depression and educational attainment at age 19; and reports of alcohol use and problem drinking at ages 30 and 48.

By age 30, men reported a higher frequency and quantity of alcohol use—on average approximately 2 to 4 times a week, 3 to 4 drinks per sitting—compared with females, who consumed alcohol on average once per week, 3 drinks per sitting.

However, at ages 30 and 48, both males and females who had been high on aggression earlier in life reported significantly more alcohol use and problems with alcohol. Participants were not asked to specify if the beverage was liquor, beer, or wine.

The study also found that two sets of variables traditionally viewed as protective factors in the development of problem behavior actually increased the likelihood of alcohol use or alcohol problems.

Source article: www.emaxhealth.com

Between homework, cheerleading and working at Wendy’s, Megan Ward was tired from being always on the go.

So last year the 16-year-old began drinking a Red Bull or Monster energy drink before school and sometimes a second one before cheerleading practice. “I was trying to get energy,” says Megan, of Parker, Colo. “In the morning, it gives me that extra boost to get me up and get me going.”

Energy drinks, laden with caffeine and sugar, have become the beverage of choice for many teenagers; 30 percent say they regularly drink them, according to a 2007 report from Mintel, a Chicago market research firm, up from 20 percent in 2002. That compares to just 14 percent of adults who say they drink them.

But the popularity of energy drinks among young people has raised concern among medical professionals, schools and state and local officials, who are pushing to limit teenagers’ access to the drinks. At issue are the drinks’ heavy caffeine and sugar content, the common practice of mixing them with alcohol, and advertising that seems to target minors for drinks with names like Cocaine.

Legislators from Maine and Kentucky introduced bills this year banning the sale of highly caffeinated energy drinks to minors. (Neither passed.) In Florida, Broward County schools considered a districtwide ban after four middle school students became sick from drinking energy drinks. A 16-year-old student in Palm Beach County died in May after consuming alcohol and energy drinks, according to her family. Investigators were awaiting the results of a toxicology report.

The Food and Drug Administration does not have a formal limit on the amount of caffeine that can be in foods but says about 72 mg of caffeine is “generally recognized as safe” for cola-type beverages. An 8-ounce cup of coffee has anywhere from 75 to 300 mg, according to caffeine researcher Laura Juliano, a professor at American University. Some energy drinks have as much as 500 mg for a 24-ounce can, and teenagers who drink them say they find themselves in a buzz-crash pattern.

“I can’t get off them,” says Greg Schubert, 16, of Nixa, Mo., who drinks two Monsters a day. “Whenever I don’t have them, I feel tired and worn out. I try to cut down, but when I do I want more.”

Energy drinks can impair children’s sleep, make them jittery and add unwanted calories, says registered dietitian Joan Salge Blake. She adds that the drinks are displacing low-fat and skim milk, needed for calcium and Vitamin D.

But experts say banning the sale to minors would be tricky. Red Bull and Monster — two of the most popular energy drinks on the market — each have about 80 mg of caffeine per 8 ounces. A 32-ounce Big Gulp of Mountain Dew contains about 146 mg — comparable to a 16-ounce can of Monster. “If they do put a control on energy drinks, they should also put labels on Mountain Dew,” says Darin Ezra, CEO of Power Brands, which developed Go Girl Energy Drink, among others.

There are 250 energy drinks currently on the market, according to John Craven, founder of BevNET.com. To one-up the competition, their makers are raising the caffeine content, changing the formula and coming up with catchy names.

Some teenagers, though, have had enough. Autumn Maison, 19, a Michigan State University student, says she gave up her daily diet of one to two energy drinks when they started to make her sick to her stomach. “I’m less drained,” she says. “I have less headaches. I’m less tired. I don’t have the mentality where I need to get my fix. I don’t feel right saying ‘don’t drink them.’ But I feel like it’s a better idea.”

This is a news article from heraldtribune.com written by MEGAN K. SCOTT