By KEN KUSMER

Associated Press Writer

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The numbers were sobering: One in five Indiana high school students had packed a weapon. More than half had tried cigarettes, and nearly half had had sex. One in seven weighed too much, one in 14 tried killing themselves.

Those statistics from a survey last year told policymakers they need to get teenagers thinking about the risks associated with certain actions if they’re going to cut into that behavior.

The first step comes Thursday, when hundreds of students from across the state gather for a health summit dubbed “Reducing the Risks: Hoosier Teens Talk Health” at the Indiana Convention Center in downtown Indianapolis.

One goal is to get teenagers talking among themselves about making the right decisions.

“Kids are going to go to this summit and go back to the schools and talk to their friends,” said one student who plans to be there, Emily Kile, a 16-year-old sophomore at Greenfield-Central High School.

The youth summit is part of a series of initiatives by Health Commissioner Dr. Judy Monroe and Gov. Mitch Daniels to get Hoosiers thinking, talking and doing more to improve their health. Indiana routinely fares poorly in comparison with other states when it comes to eating right, getting exercise and avoiding smoking.

Daniels launched INShape Indiana, a Web-based program promoting physical fitness, good nutrition, and smoking cessation. First lady Cheri Daniels works to get women to reduce their risks of heart disease. The governor’s plan to bring health coverage to uninsured Hoosiers — funded in part by a 44-cent-per-pack increase in the cigarette tax — began enrolling people in December.

The 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Survey released that same month included the above statistics. The summit grew out of it, with Monroe saying the state must get its youth involved in curbing risky habits like smoking, drinking, inactivity and poor nutrition.

“We want to hear from the youths firsthand,” Monroe said in an interview.

She’s encouraging them to speak openly Thursday during breakout sessions that tackle sensitive topics such as body image, dating, bullying, binge drinking and prescription drug use.

Other sessions will cover self-defense for young women, preventing violence, nutrition and mental health, physical activity and positive peer pressure.

Monroe expects the summit will draw some students who will go into careers where they will make a difference, such as teaching, health, law enforcement and social work.

“I know there’s leadership out there,” she said.

She also wants to reach youths who have had fewer opportunities to succeed, and tap into the ways young people express themselves, such as text messaging and social networking Web sites like Facebook.com.

“We know that the youth communicate differently than in my day,” Monroe said. “I believe there’s a lot of power in using those technologies.”

The summit’s target audience is high school students, ages 14-18. The Health Department has enlisted schools to send groups to the summit. By the middle of last week it had registered 347 teenagers and about 140 others.

Kile said she is among 30 or more students coming from Greenfield-Central and its middle schools. She’s a leader in an anti-tobacco group there called Voice, a project of Indiana Tobacco Prevention Cessation, a quasi-state agency.

The younger students in particular stand to leave better informed, Kile said.

“I think it’s going to help them see what’s really going on. The younger, the better,” she said.

Bill Stanczykiewicz, president and CEO of the Indiana Youth Institute advocacy group, said he would like to hear from the participants why they think suicide is the leading cause of death among their peers. Also, he’d like to know how they would encourage others to become more physically active?

“It’s always good to hear directly from the young people themselves,” Stanczykiewicz said. “If you have a chance to voice your opinion, you’re going to be more interested in those solutions.”

Health Commissioner Monroe realizes the summit is but a first step. She and others might need to hold smaller meetings around the state to reach more youths. She also wants to make youth health summits an annual event.

“We’re dealing with issues that we’re not going to turn around overnight,” Monroe said.

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On the Net:

Indiana State Department of Health: www.in.gov/isdh/