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Henry Reske Premium Health News Service

October 14, 2009
Young adults, ages 18 to 29, face high injury rates, increases in obesity and lack of health insurance, according to "Health, United States: 2008," the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's 32nd annual review of the nation's health.

Obesity rates for young adults, which were at 8 percent in the early 1970s, have tripled to 24 percent in 2005-2006. Young adults have the highest rate of injury-related emergency room visits, while unintentional injuries or accidents, homicide, and suicide accounted for 70 percent of deaths in the age group.

In 2006, 34 percent of those ages 20 to 24 were uninsured compared to 29 percent of those ages 25 to 29 and 21 percent of those ages 18 to 19. Between 2004 and 2006, 17 percent of young adults reported that they had to forgo medical care, prescription medicines, mental healthcare, or eyeglasses in the past year because they could not afford them.