Health, United States Spotlight

Health Status and Determinants December 2017

ABOUT HEALTH, UNITED STATES

Health, United States is the annual report on health, produced by the 

National Center for Health Statistics and submitted by the Secretary of the 

Department of Health and Human Services to the President and Congress. 

The report uses data from government sources as well as private and global 

sources to present an overview of national health trends. This infographic 

features indicators relating to adolescent health from the report’s Health 

Status and Determinants section.

For more information, visit the Health, United States website at:

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/hus.htm.

Four Subject Areas

of Health, United States

Health status

& determinants

Health care 

resources

Utilization 

of health 

resources

Health care 

expenditures 

& payers

TEENAGE CHILDBEARING

SOURCE

NCHS, National Vital 

Statistics System (NVSS)

METHODOLOGY

Data on the mother's 

race and Hispanic origin 

are generally provided by 

the mother at the time of 

delivery.

NOTES

• Data represent resident

births in the 50 states

and the District of

Columbia (D.C.).

• Racial and ethnic

disparities in any given

year are summarized

using the difference

between the highest

and lowest group rates

for that year.

 2006 2011 2016

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

Live births per 1,000 females aged 15–19

0

Births among females aged 15–19, by race and Hispanic 

origin: 2006–2016

American Indian or Alaska Native 

(AIAN), not Hispanic (NH)

Black, not Hispanic

White, not Hispanic

Asian or Pacific Islander (API), not Hispanic

Hispanic

29.3

14.4

31.9

5.2

34.7

AIAN, NH

How did teenage childbearing change from 2006 through 2016?

Black, NH

Hispanic

White, NH

API, NH

Stable Decrease

Decrease

Decrease

Stable Decrease

Stable Decrease

Teenage childbearing reached a

historic low

of 20.3 live births per 1,000 

females aged 15–19 in 2016.

Birth rates for females aged 15–19

decreased 

across all five racial and ethnic 

groups between 2006 and 2016.

The difference between the highest 

and lowest group birth rates for 

females aged 15–19 narrowed 

from 2006 through 2016.

AIAN, NH

API, NH

API, NH

Hispanic

Highest rate (2006)

Highest rate (2016)

Lowest rate (2006)

Lowest rate (2016)

TOBACCO USE

SOURCE

SAMHSA, National Survey on 

Drug Use and Health (NSDUH)

RESPONDENTS

Noninstitutionalized adolescents 

residing in the 50 states and D.C.

METHODOLOGY

Tobacco use was self-reported by 

the respondent. Tobacco products

do not include e-cigarettes.

Tobacco products include 

CIGARETTES, CIGARS, PIPE 

TOBACCO, and SMOKELESS 

TOBACCO.

In 2016, roughly 5 out 

of 100 adolescents aged 

12–17 used a tobacco 

product in the past month 

compared with 13 out of 

100 in 2006.

CIGARETTES

3.4%

of adolescents aged 12–17 

smoked cigarettes in the 

past month in 2016.

Cigarette smoking in 

the past month among 

adolescents decreased

7.0 percentage points 

between 2006 and 2016.

2006

2016

CIGARS

1.8%

of adolescents aged 12–17 

smoked cigars in the past 

month in 2016.

Cigar smoking in the 

past month among 

adolescents decreased

2.3 percentage points 

between 2006 and 2016.

2006 2016

PIPE TOBACCO

0.5%

of adolescents aged 12–17

smoked pipe tobacco in 

the past month in 2016.

Pipe tobacco smoking in 

the past month among 

adolescents decreased

0.2 percentage points

between 2006 and 2016.

2006 2016

SMOKELESS TOBACCO

1.4%

of adolescents aged 12–17 

used smokeless tobacco 

in the past month in 2016.

The smokeless tobacco 

survey question was 

revised as of 2015. 

More data are needed 

to establish a trend.
SUICIDE DEATHS

SOURCE

NCHS, National Vital 

Statistics System (NVSS)

METHODOLOGY

Cause of death was 

certified by an attending 

physician, coroner, or 

medical examiner and 

recorded on the death 

certificate.

NOTES

• Data represent resident

deaths in the 50 states

and D.C.

• Suburban counties are

large fringe metro 

counties.

• Rural counties are

nonmetropolitan 

counties.

20

15

10

5

0

Deaths per 100,000 population

Suicide rates among adolescents aged 15–19, by 

urbanization of county of residence: 2005 and 2015

2005

2015

6.0

7.0

8.0 8.8

10.7 10.3

14.3

7.4

Large central metroSuburban Medium/small 

 metro

Rural 

More urban counties More rural counties

How much did suicide rates increase between 2005 and 2015?

Suburban Medium/small 

 metro

Large central Rural 

 metro

 24.9% 26.2% 33.8% 39.2%

Between 2005 and 2015, suicide 

rates among adolescents aged 15–19

increased

for all four urbanization categories.

The suicide rate among adolescents aged 

15–19 living in RURAL COUNTIES was nearly

TWICE THE SUICIDE RATE

among adolescents aged 15–19 living in 

LARGE CENTRAL METRO COUNTIES in 2015.

For adolescents aged 15–19, suicide 

was the SECOND LEADING CAUSE OF 

DEATH in 2015. Unintentional injuries 

were the leading cause of death.

OBESITY

SOURCE

NCHS, National Health 

and Nutrition Examination 

Survey (NHANES)

PARTICIPANTS

Noninstitutionalized 

adolescents.

METHODOLOGY

Participant weight and 

height were measured 

during the physical 

examination component 

of NHANES. 

25

20

15

10

5

0

Percent

1999–

2000

2003–

2004

2007–

2008

2011–

2012

2015–

2016

Obesity among adolescents aged 12–19, by sex: 

1999–2000 through 2015–2016

Boys

Girls Total

20.9

20.2

20.6

Obesity in youth is defined as a BODY 

MASS INDEX (BMI) greater than or equal to 

the age- and sex-specific 95th percentile 

of the 2000 CDC Growth Charts.

measured weight (kg)

[measured height (m)]2 BMI =

From 1999–2000 through 2015–2016, 

obesity among adolescents aged 12–19

increased

from 14.8% to 20.6%.

In 2015–2016, one in 

five adolescents aged 

12–19 had obesity.

The prevalence of obesity 

was not statistically different 

between girls and boys 

aged 12–19.

For additional information on Health, United States, visit

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/hus.htm.

For more information about NCHS and its programs, visit 

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs.