短信族被納入健康風險人羣

Hyper-texting or hyper-networking (teenagers sending more than 120 texts a day)， is giving rise to a whole new "health risk category", a new study suggests。

一項最新研究發現，“超級短信族”或“超級網絡族”(指每天發送120多個文本文件的青少年)逐步形成一個新型的“健康風險人羣”。

The researchers found that teenagers who are hyper-texters are 40 percent more likely to have tried cigarettes, two times more likely to have tried alcohol and 43 percent more likely to be binge drinkers。

研究人員發現，(與一般的青少年相比，)“超級短信族”抽菸的可能性要高40%，吸毒的可能性增加兩倍，嗜酒如命的可能性要高43%。

They are also 41 percent more likely to have used illicit drugs, 55 percent more likely to have been in a physical fight, nearly three-and-a-half times more likely to have had sex and 90 percent more likely to report four or more sexual partners。

(“超級短信族”)使用違禁藥物的可能性增加41%，打架鬥毆的可能性增加55%，性行爲的可能性增加近3.5倍，擁有三到四個性伴侶的可能性更是增加達90%。

Dr. Scott Frank, lead researcher at the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio, said: "The startling results of this study suggest that when left unchecked texting and other widely popular methods of staying connected can have dangerous health effects on teenagers. And this should be a wake-up call for parents to not only help their children stay safe by not texting and driving, but by discouraging excessive use of the cell phone or social websites in general."

該研究的主要負責人，俄亥俄州克利夫蘭凱斯西儲醫學院Scott Frank博士表示：“這項驚人的研究結果表明，未經檢查的短信以及現在廣泛流行的網絡社交方式嚴重危害着青少年的健康。同時也給父母們敲響警鐘，父母不僅要幫助孩子們遠離短信和駕駛的危害，還要引導他們避免過度使用手機和一般社交網站。

The findings, which were presented at the American Public Health Association's conference in Denver, found that up to one in five teenagers belonged to this group, many of whom were female。

此項研究結果將在丹佛舉行的美國公共衛生協會會議上公佈。另外，結果顯示，目前已有五分之一的青少年屬於“健康風險人羣”，其中不乏少女。