Today's teens fatter but less risk-seeking than their parents were

For parents whose teen years played out against the soundtrack of "Stayin' Alive," the Foundation for Child Development may have some shocking news: your teenage kids are doing a better job of stayin' alive than you did.

Compared with their late-baby boomer parents -- those born between 1955 and 1964 -- teenagers in the early part of this decade were much less likely to die from accidents, violence or disease. They were also much less likely to engage in risky behaviors such as taking drugs, binge drinking, getting pregnant or engaging in violent crime. And the "echo boomers" -- those born in the late 1980s and early '90s, frequently to boomer parents -- are more likely than their late-boomer parents were to be active participants in school, jobs and community institutions.

The authors of the Child Well-Being Index of 2008 surmise that the late boomers, who "saw up-close the risky behavior of their cohorts," decided they wanted better for their kids. That, in turn, "led parents to more closely monitor the behavior of their adolescent children." Much as it's maligned, that "helicopter parenting" seems to have worked to keep more of Generation Y healthy and safe than their parents had been. Besides, many echo-boomers were probably so busy padding their college applications in anticipation of the fierce competition that they had little time to drink, take drugs or have sex.

But all that disco dancing seems to have made their boomer parents a good deal more fit than teens in 2003-05: In 1973-75, 5.74% of teens were overweight. By 2003-05, overweight kids made up 17.6% of the teen population in the U.S.

The well-being index was released today -- a composite of health, education and economic statistics that track the ups and downs of American kids. The Foundation for Child Development has been tallying the well-being index since 1975, when the Bee Gees and KC & the Sunshine Band topped the charts.

--Melissa Healy