Adolescent Health: Planting Seeds for a - Society for Public Health ...

Sample
Proclamation
Adolescent Health: Planting Seeds for a Healthier Generation
National Health Education Week | October 15-19, 2012
Adolescent Health: Planting Seeds for a Healthier Generation
Call for Education and Action to Improve Adolescent Health
WHEREAS, The State of [name of state, city] has a vital interest in a promoting and establishing healthy behaviors in our nation’s
adolescents; and
WHEREAS, The leading causes of death and disability among adolescents are related to preventable health risk behaviors including,
tobacco use, unhealthy dietary behaviors, sedentary lifestyles, alcohol, tobacco and other drug use, unsafe sex, and injury and
violence; 2 and
WHEREAS, Health risk behaviors adopted during adolescence are linked to various health outcomes in later life, including heart
disease, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, obesity, smoking, drug use and depression, 3 and accounts for a major
portion of preventable chronic diseases that cost the U.S. economy more than $1 trillion annually; 4 and
WHEREAS, The health, safety and well-being of adolescents is affected by a complex interplay of factors between the individual and
their surrounding, such as parents, peers, neighborhoods and communities, schools, community-based organizations, health care
systems, media, social norms, policies and laws; 5 and
WHEREAS, Improving adolescent health requires government agencies, community organizations, schools, businesses and other
stakeholders to collaboratively work together to develop comprehensive set of evidence-based policy, system and environmental
strategies implemented and instilled early in life; and
WHEREAS, Schools with coordinated and comprehensive school health programs increase students’ involvement in healthy
behaviors and decrease their involvement in risky behaviors, and improve students’ academic performance, including their school
attendance, grades, test scores, and ability to pay attention in class; 6 and
WHEREAS, Health education specialists are uniquely positioned to work with schools, communities, parent groups, and other
groups to promote adolescent health; and
WHEREAS, The [name of chapter or organization] is committed to promoting the health and safety of adolescents and helping
them establish lifelong healthy behaviors by bringing health education ideas and principles into the legislative and public arenas;
and
WHEREAS, In celebration of National Health Education Week, government agencies, community-based organizations, health care
providers, schools, and businesses are essential to support the 2012 National Health Education Week focus on improving
adolescent health through the theme “Adolescent Health: Planting Seeds for a Healthier Nation”; and
THEREFORE be it,
RESOLVED, That the [name of governor, mayor, elected official, or health commissioner] of the [name of state, city] do hereby
proclaim October 15-19, 2012, as the Society for Public Health Education’s (SOPHE) National Health Education Week. All
individuals, organizations, and communities are encouraged to raise awareness of adolescent health and promote policy, system
and environmental changes to empower young people to make healthy choices during National Health Education Week.
1. National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. Committee on Adolescent Health Care Services and Models of Care for Treatment, Prevention, and Healthy Development. Adolescent health services: Missing opportunities. Lawrence RS, Gootman JA, Sim LJ,
editors. Washington: National Academies Press, 2009. Available from:http://books.nap.edu/openbook.phprecord_id=12063&page=1
2. Mulye TP, Park MJ, Nelson CD, et al. Trends in adolescent and young adult health in the United States. J Adolesc Health. 2009;45(1):8-24. Available from: http://download.journals.elsevierhealth.com/pdfs/journals/1054-139X/PIIS1054139X09001244.pdf
3. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Commission to Build a Healthier America. (2008) America’s Health Starts with Healthy Children: How Do States Compare.
4. Devol R, Bedroussian. (2007). An Unhealthy America: The Economic Burden of Chronic Disease Charting a New Course to Save Lives and Increase Productivity and Economic Growth. The Milken Institute. Available at http://www.milkeninstitute.org/healthreform/
pdf/AnUnhealthyAmericaExecSumm.pdf
5. National Research Council, Panel on High-Risk Youth, Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Losing generations: Adolescents in high-risk settings. Washington: National Academies Press; 1993. Available from: http://www.nap.edu/
openbook.phprecord_id=2113&page=1
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