How do children and young people at German schools rate their health? Are there differences to other countries and to what extent do health factors actually depend on age, income and gender? This is being investigated in the current HBSC study (Health Behaviour in School-aged Children), which involves 51 countries and was developed in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO).
Prof. Dr. Matthias Richter, head of the Chair of Social Determinants of Health, is leading the study in collaboration with Dr. Irene Moor from the University of Halle. Representative surveys have been conducted at schools every four years for over 40 years. The most recent survey in 2022 involved 6,475 pupils aged eleven to 15 from all over Germany. The results have been published in the “Journal of Health Monitoring”, which is published by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI).
"The foundation for health in adulthood is laid in childhood and adolescence. Unfortunately, our figures show that we as a society do not always do this well. Even if adolescents today are mostly satisfied with their lives: The continuous increase of psychosomatic complaints and the low numbers for daily exercise hint at future problems. We must develop programs that actually reach young people and help them to stay healthy“, explains Prof. Richter.
The results show that adolescents are not getting enough exercise and sport. Only around one in ten girls and one in five boys met the WHO recommendation for at least 60 minutes of daily exercise. It was also found that the older the respondents were, the less exercise they did. While around 15 percent of eleven-year-old girls met the WHO recommendation for physical activity, the figure for 15-year-olds was just under seven percent.
The determinants of social inequalities are also evident in the study. In families with a low level of prosperity, 24 percent of female adolescents report low life satisfaction compared to female students with a higher socio-economic status, for whom this figure is twice as high. Among male adolescents from economically disadvantaged families, this figure is 17 percent. This figure is even three times as high for pupils with a higher socio-economic status.
„The results underline once again that not all children and young people have the same health opportunities. In order to reduce bullying, health inequalities and the frequency of psychosomatic complaints, target group-specific measures are needed that take particular account of school type, migration background, socio-economic status, gender and age, for example. Girls, older and gender diverse adolescents are particularly affected in many areas“, explains Dr. Irene Moor from the University Medicine Halle. As deputy head of the study, she is coordinating the project at the Institute of Medical Sociology in Halle.
The HBSC Study Network Germany comprises seven locations, each specializing in different subject areas, and is jointly managed by the Technical University of Munich (Prof. Dr. Matthias Richter) and the University Medicine Halle (Dr. Irene Moor). Other participating locations are the Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg (Prof. Dr. Ludwig Bilz), the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (Prof. Dr. Ulrike Ravens-Sieberer), the Heidelberg University of Education (Prof. Dr. Jens Bucksch), the University of Tübingen (Prof. Dr. Gorden Sudeck) and the Fulda University of Applied Sciences (Prof. Dr. Katharina Rathmann, Prof. Dr. Kevin Dadaczynski).
To the homepage of the Chair of Social Determinants of Health
To the publication of the results in the “Journal of Health Monitoring”
To the TUM press release
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Matthias Richter
Chair of Social Determinants of Health
Georg-Brauchle-Ring 60/62
80992 München
phone: 089 289 24190
e-mail: richter.matthias(at)tum.de
Text: Paul Hellmich/Jonas Machner/CCC/Bastian Daneyko
Photos: pixabay/private