On Dec. 1, city officials shared several sets of surveys on drug use, risk behaviors, and exercise rates.

Corey
Mashburn, Director of Somerville Cares About Prevention (SCAP),
presented data on Somerville youth. The latest findings were from a
health survey of 818 Somerville middle school students conducted last
April. The survey, which is conducted every two years, was voluntary
and viewed by parents before administration. It measured topics such as
substance abuse, violence, mental and physical health amongst
Somerville teens.

Overall, substance abuse amongst Somerville
teens is down. One number that officials highlighted was alcohol use
among teens, which according to the survey dropped from 18 percent in
2007 to 9 percent in 2009.

Another finding from the data was
that youth warning other youth had a much stronger impact as opposed to
adults lecturing youth. Adult lectures were thought to be boring by
teens yet when presented with the same information by their peers,
teens seemed to respond more positively.

The next SCAP survey is scheduled for Somerville High School on February 4, 2010.

Paulette
Renault-Caragianes, director of the Somerville Health Department,
presented the results of the 2008 Behavioral Risk Factor Survey for
Somerville. The survey gathered data on health risks and problems of
city residents. The survey was conducted between January and May 2008
amongst 644 participants.

The results show a drop in the number
of unhealthy behaviors by Somerville residents. According to the
survey, the number of smokers has gone down as well as the number of
binge drinkers.

The survey also found that the majority of
Somerville residents (69.1 percent) feel it's important to build and
maintain places where people can exercise.