How Much Are Your Kids ‘At-Risk’ in New Study?

Recruiters for the U.S. armed forces are having a hard time finding enough good young men and women. That's because 71% of Americans between the ages of 17 to 24 fail to qualify for service, due to academic, moral or health qualifications.

These same deficiencies may hamper young folks as they seek success in other jobs and facets of everyday life. And certain U.S. states are worse off than others. WalletHub's study of the 50 U.S. states plus the District of Columbia measured our country's youth against a series of economic, environmental and other metrics. New York came out in the middle.

In 2018's States with the Most At-Risk Youth, the Empire State ranked 29th overall--a little better than the median--and it scored at opposite ends of the spectrum in two key areas.

New York was fifth-best in percentage of overweight or obese youth. But it was next-to-last in the participation of youth in the labor force. So, the good news is our young people are in relatively good physical condition. But, the bad news is they're either having a tough time finding jobs for various reasons or they're slackers who just aren't motivated to work.

According to the study, which factored in poverty rates, drug abuse, educational levels, obesity and more, the youth in New Jersey were healthiest, while those in Washington, DC came out worst.

How active are your young adults?

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