THE NUMBER of Irish schoolboys reporting they feel too fat is growing, but among schoolgirls the number feeling this way is decreasing, according to a major new report on the health and lifestyle of school-age children published yesterday.
The latest Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) report, published every four years, states that the percentage of boys aged 15 in the Republic reporting they feel too fat has increased from 21 per cent in 2002 to 22 per cent in 2006. The number of boys in this group reporting they are on a diet has increased from 6 per cent in 2002 to 8 per cent in 2006.
Conversely, the number of girls aged 15 reporting they feel too fat or are on diets is decreasing. In 2002 some 48 per cent of girls reported they felt too fat. This dropped to 45 per cent in the latest survey in 2006. While 24 per cent of girls of this group were on a diet in 2002, just 19 per cent were on a diet four years later.
The HBSC report also found smoking rates and alcohol consumption among younger children have dropped since the last comprehensive study was conducted. Some 4.5 per cent of 13-year-olds reported smoking daily in 2002. This has dropped to 3 per cent in the latest survey, while daily smoking rates among 15-year-olds has dropped from 16 per cent to 15 per cent over the same period.
The percentages of 11-year-olds drinking weekly has dropped from 4 per cent in 2002 to 1.5 per cent in 2006, while among 13-year-olds it has dropped from 7 per cent to 5.2 per cent. There was, however, a slight increase in weekly drinking among 15-year-olds, from 18 per cent to 19 per cent in the same period.
Cannabis use among 15-year-olds increased from 21 per cent in 2002 to 23.5 per cent in 2006.
This survey was conducted among 4,840 Irish children, and similar data was collected for a further 200,000 children across 40 other countries in Europe and North America, allowing comparisons to be made.
Interestingly, the report notes fighting among school-aged children in the Republic increases as they get older, while in many other countries it decreases with age; 11.5 per cent of Irish 11-year-olds reported having been involved in a physical fight at least three times in the past year. The percentage increased to 13 per cent among Irish 15-year-olds.
However, in countries such as Italy it drops from 17.5 per cent among 11-year-olds to 11.5 per cent among 15-year-olds, and drops from 26 per cent among 11-year- olds in Turkey to 15 per cent among 15-year-olds.
Dr Saoirse Nic Gabhainn, a senior lecturer at NUI Galway and the principal researcher for Ireland, said the trend needed to be looked at further.
The report also looked at contraceptive use among school children in several countries but not in Ireland, as the researchers did not have ethical approval to ask such questions.
Among countries that provided data there were wide variations in percentages of 15-year-olds using the contraceptive pill during last sexual intercourse.
These ranged from 51.5 per cent of 15-year-olds in the Netherlands to 4.5 per cent in Spain.
Dr Nic Gabhainn said Irish children rank highly on many positive health indicators. They rank among the top 10 countries surveyed in terms of daily physical activity and also among the top 10 countries in eating breakfast. “We are also in the top five for number of close friends and for perceived school performance in all age groups,” she said.
The report found children from more affluent families get on better with their fathers. It also found that children from more affluent families were more likely to eat breakfast and children from poorer families were more likely to watch TV.