Young people's health verdict for their peers - How healthy are children and young people in England?
How healthy are children and young people in England?
Not very, according to a new leaflet that aims to spell out a series of hard-hitting messages for 11-18 year-olds.
The four-page leaflet was compiled for the Association of Public Health Observatories by the Young People's Reference Group on Public Health, a 12-strong group of young people, led by the National Children's Bureau, with the aim of distributing it to every secondary school in the country.
It is a teenagers' guide to the Indications report published by APHO in November 2006 which focused on the geographical and socio-economic variations in indicators of children's health across England in comparison with their European counterparts.
The child-friendly version points out some worrying aspects of young people's health in general, and some startling regional variations in obesity, teenage pregnancy, alcohol misuse and smoking.
The Young People's Reference Group, whose members are aged between 12 and 18, picked out issues its members thought were important to young people. The leaflet includes facts and figures to back up their choice, and they ask young people to consider how these issues can be tackled.
Health challenges facing young people in England include:
- Children more likely to be obese than those in Spain, Poland, France, Netherlands, Germany and the Czech Republic
- By the age of 15, only 50 per cent of girls take the recommended daily minimum of 60 minutes moderate exercise
- About 40,000 pregnancies a year in girls aged 15 to 17 - the highest in Western Europe
- Some 22 per cent of 13 to 15 year-olds reported drinking alcohol in the last seven days
- In 2004, nearly one in 10 11 to 15 year-olds was a regular smoker - with more girls smoking than boys
Regional variations were also marked - one in eight 13-15 year olds in London had drunk alcohol in the last week compared with more than one in four in the East Midlands. Children and young people living in the North are most likely to be living with smokers - and therefore more at risk of starting smoking.
But the picture was not entirely gloomy. Children in England are more physically active than in many other European countries, and fewer children or young people are injured or killed in road traffic accidents than in most other European countries, even though three in 10 deaths of 15 to 19 year olds is caused by road accidents.
Tunde Olasupo, a member of the Young Persons' Reference Group said:
"I think that it's a really good idea for the [young people's reference] group to have been involved in writing this summary, and to have been able to talk to the researchers about the things that matter to us.
"It's been really helpful for young people to produce this document, as we could relate the research to things that have happened to us."
Chair of APHO, Professor Brian Ferguson, paid tribute to the Young Persons' Reference Group's "tremendous achievement".
I was struck by their enormous commitment and enthusiasm in developing this work and their genuine interest in the APHO Child Health report and particularly it's setting within a European context" he said.
Their aim, like mine, is to ensure that the report becomes known in every secondary school in the country, to raise awareness of both the public health challenges we face and the success stories.
He acknowledged the substantial help given by the National Children's Bureau in producing the report, and the financial support from the Department of Health towards the graphic design and printing.
Dr Sheila Shribman, National Clinical Director for Children, Young People and Maternity Services, said: "I welcome this useful publication for young people on aspects of public health that young people themselves believe are important."
