Healthy habits in children and adolescents deteriorate in 3 years
Three years after the COVID-19 pandemic was declared, the quality of life of young people in Spain has deteriorated across the board: emotional well-being, screen time, physical activity, sleep duration, and diet. This is according to the results of the PASOS 2022 study , coordinated by the Gasol Foundation – the foundation of brothers Pau and Marc Gasol dedicated to preventing childhood obesity. The study evaluated the Spanish population aged 8 to 16 and included a total of 2,892 children and adolescents from 223 schools across all 17 autonomous communities of Spain.
Nearly half of the girls report feeling worried, sad, or unhappy.
The study's data reveals worrying information about emotional distress in childhood and adolescence. The percentage of children and adolescents who report feeling worried, sad, or unhappy has increased and now exceeds 32%. Furthermore, 4 out of 10 girls between the ages of 8 and 16 report feeling worried, sad, or unhappy , a much higher percentage than that of boys (2 out of 10). A similar difference is observed in the comparative analysis between childhood (20.4%) and adolescence (41.6%).
Within the quality of life questionnaire, this dimension is the one that shows the greatest deterioration, which has probably been significantly influenced by the change in social dynamics experienced by children, and especially adolescents, during the health crisis.
The study also reveals a decline in other aspects of health among the young population:
- 33.4% are overweight or obese , a reality that worsens in the case of the male gender, the younger population and the lower socioeconomic level.
- Six out of ten children exceed the recommended screen time during the week, while eight out of ten exceed the recommendation on weekends. Spanish children spend more than three hours a day on screens during the week, far exceeding the recommended maximum of two hours per day using devices such as computers, mobile phones, tablets, or televisions. On weekends, screen time is even higher: almost five hours a day (294.1 minutes).
- It is noted that the average number of minutes spent on moderate or vigorous physical activity has decreased by 23 minutes per day in the period from 2019 to 2022, increasing the non-compliance with the recommended average of 60 minutes per day.
Benefits of sport in children and adolescents
- Almost half of the Spanish child and adolescent population does not meet the recommended hours of sleep for both weekdays and weekends.
- Fewer and fewer children are following The Mediterranean diet . The last 3 years have accelerated the trend already observed in the first edition of the PASOS study : adherence to the Mediterranean diet is deteriorating among children.
Beyond diet in the treatment of childhood obesity
The study calls for further research into the factors underlying the decline in emotional well-being and, above all, for identifying how to intervene in this situation to promote the full and healthy development of the current generation of children and adolescents.
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