About 44.9 percent of Mexicans ages 12 to 29 are in poverty and struggle with high youth mortality rates and increasing teen pregnancies.

The young Mexicans face food shortages, violence, few job opportunities and lack of access to adequate medical coverage, according to Univision, which quoted Mexican newspaper El Universal.

In 2012, more than 400,000 teen pregnancies were reported.

The information was published in a joint study by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Instituto Mexicano de la Juventud.

The study explored factors such as the age when the youth began sexual activity, which increases health risks, as well as the high mortality rates among young males -- 22 percent, compared to under 6 percent of females -- from assaults or self-inflicted wounds.

But the information is hardly new.

Children International, which sponsors children and families in poverty-stricken countries, has presented similarly alarming statistics.

Health risks are a part of daily life in poor communities, since inadequate sanitation and drainage systems are ideal for diseases like hepatitis, typhoid fever, dengue fever and other bacterial infections.

In addition, drug trafficking has turned some of Mexico's cities into war zones, and 25 percent of the "economically active" population is underemployed, according to Children International.

José Manuel Romero Coello, at the Instituto Mexicano de la Juventud, told El Universal the focus needs to now be on the youth and improving their lives.

Despite the juvenile mortality rates, the youth make up an important percentage, and the government should focus on their needs separately, Coello said. Poverty must be tracked in two categories: youth and adult.