Adults Top 10 Concerns about Kids: Childhood Obesity #3

Most parents worry about their children's safety. The University of Michigan recently quantified those worries into categories in a national survey. Adults' top concerns about U.S. children are smoking, teen drug abuse, and childhood obesity, a new poll shows. The National Poll on Children's Health included a nationally representative group of 2,076 adults.

Here are their top 10 concerns and the percentage of participants rating each concern as a "big problem." Participants could use the "big problem" rating more than once.

1. Smoking: 40%
2. Teen drug abuse: 39%
3. Childhood obesity: 34%
4. Teen alcohol abuse: 33%
5. Driving accidents: 29%
6. Teen pregnancy: 28%
7. Internet safety: 26%
8. School violence: 24%
9. Sexually transmitted infection: 24%
10. Abuse and neglect: 22%

Ratings varied somewhat. For instance, black adults rated teen pregnancy as the top health concern, and adults with college degrees were more likely than those with no college degree to rate childhood obesity as a top concern.

SOURCES: C.S. Mott Children's Hospital: "National Poll on Children's Health." News release, University of Michigan Health System.