WIREDGOV

A sharp fall in the number of teenagers smoking and drinking, good dental hygiene, improving self-rated health and good support networks are among the key findings from the latest report into health behaviours in school-aged children.

However, there is room for improvement. Reflecting trends in adult diets, only three in ten report eating vegetables, and the same proportion eating fruit on a daily basis. Not enough young people are doing recommended levels of physical activity every day.  

The 2013/14 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children involved almost ten thousand secondary school-aged children across Wales. Key findings include:

• a substantial majority of young people report being happy with their life and in good health
• a substantial fall in the numbers of 15 to 16 year olds smoking and drinking compared to the 1990s
• the lowest levels of cannabis use since 2002
• an increase in regular tooth brushing, the proportions rising with age
• the majority of young people report having good support networks, receiving emotional support from their family
• the number of young people who now find it easier to talk to their father has risen significantly in a decade, rising from 55% to 67% for girls and 65% to 82% for boys
• a fall in the number of young people reporting early sexual activity.

Chief Medical Officer Dr Ruth Hussey said:

“These findings give us a useful snapshot of the health of young people in Wales. It’s reassuring that many young people are following advice on healthy lifestyles – advice that will stand them in good stead throughout their lives.  

“We know that not enough young people are physically active and last week we launched the Games for Life campaign, to encourage children to be more active, with fun ideas for games suitable for any weather. It is part of the Change4Life campaign, which also promotes healthier food choices to Welsh families.  

“We have a wide range of measures in place to help children to be more active and get them hooked on sport for life, including free swimming, a £1.6m physical literacy programme for schools and the Healthy Schools scheme. It’s vital that we all take responsibility for our own and our families’ lifestyle choices.”

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