■ A third of adolescents (42%) consume nutritional
supplements. Although the most popular supplements
consumed are multivitamin and mineral preparations,
many adolescent males are consuming protein
supplements to enhance sports performance and/or
gain weight, while young women are consuming herbal
supplements for weight control.xvi
■ The onset of over three fourths of eating disorders
(76%) occurs between the ages of eleven and
twenty.xvii
Physical Inactivity
■ There are disparities among racial/ ethnic groups and
their levels of physical activity: 54% of Asian, 58% of
Latino/Hispanic, 62% of 2 or more races, 67% of
African American, and 70% of White adolescents report
participating in vigorous physical activity at least three
days per weekxviii (Graph 2)
■ Two thirds (62%) of adolescents have a bedroom
television, which is associated with more television
viewing time, less physical activity, poorer dietary habits,
fewer family meals, and poorer school performance.xix
■ Physical activity drops off sharply as students age.xx
(Graph 3)
■ There are significant gender differences in physical
activity, with females reporting substantially less physical
activity and sports team participation than males. On
average, about two-thirds (67%) of all adolescents
(73% of males and 59% of females) participated in
vigorous physical activity 3 days per week.xxi
■ Although the California Education Code contains specific
regulations for the number of minutes of physical
education required per week, 27% of 15-19 year olds
report that they were not required to take physical
education in school and 15% reported that their school
neither requires nor offers physical education.xxii Thus,
nearly one million adolescents get less than the
recommended levels of physical activity, including
240,000 who get no physical activity.xxiii In addition, 34%
of adolescents ages 15 to 19 years old did not
participate in any sports teams or physical activity
outside of school.
■ Access