North Carolina’s children are living healthier than they did eight years ago, according to an advocacy group. There are more children who are getting health and dental care, less teen girls becoming pregnant and fewer children vulnerable to lead. All this is according to Action for Children North Carolina, which published a child health report card for 15 years. Along with the N.C. Institute of Medicine, the group commended state policies for improving health with a broader health insurance plan that includes more children in low-income homes.
This said, the report claimed that North Carolina still needs to improve in certain areas. Even though the infant mortality rate has declined, it is still more than the national average. In North Carolina, there are eight babies who die for every 1,000 born. The rate is less than seven deaths for every 1,000 live births nationally.
Unfortunately, some unhealthy problems became even worse. The percentage of low-income children who are obese increased in each age group. There were 26% poor children aged 5-11 who were rated as obese and 29% of teens aged 12-18 were also obese.
For substance abuse cases, there is good and bad news. There has not been much done to keep high school students from drinking, smoking pot or doing cocaine, but there was a notable decrease in the amount of students who had smoked cigarettes. There were 28% of students who were smokers in 2001, which fell to 19% in 2007.
You can go to www.ncchild.org to get more information about the results.
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