Copyright: 2004 The Gazette, a division of Southam Inc.
Contact: letters@thegazette.canwest.com
Website: http://www.canada.com/montreal/montrealgazette/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/274
Author: Richard Starnes, CanWest News Service

TEENS ARE FAT, LAZY POT-SMOKERS

But Study Finds News Is Not All Bad. Canadian Youth Are Computer-literate,
Physically Active: World Health Organization

A disturbing number of Canadian teens are fat, lazy, eat poorly, and smoke
too much weed, according to a World Health Organization report.

At first glance, a comprehensive study of more than 150,000 young people
from 35 countries suggests Canada is a nation of physically fit teens in
generally good physical and mental health.

Our young people also rank extremely high in computer use. Asked if they
used a computer for three hours during the week, Canadian 11-year-olds
ranked sixth of all nations sampled, 13-year-olds third and 15-year-olds
second. On the weekends, Canada rose to first place in the two older
categories.

But John Freeman, a major Canadian contributor to Health Behaviour in
School-Aged Children, suggests all is not as it might seem.

Freeman's team of researchers from Queen's University in Kingston, Ont.,
shared in the report, conducted every four years, which interviews 11-,13-
and 15-year-olds in Canada, the United States and European countries.

Canada prides itself on its level of physical activity and, with our teens
ranking in the top five countries for physical activity, that pride appears
legitimate.

So why, asks Freeman, are our youngsters among the most obese in the 35
countries?

We sit sixth most obese among 13-year-olds and fourth among 15-year-olds,
where the United States leads the list.

Freeman suggests the "physically active" figures may be skewed by promotion
campaigns that encourage things like walking up and down stairs or
strolling to the corner store. "Perhaps our adolescents are reporting
activities others are not, which would raise our ranking.

"Even if the figures are accurate, however you look at it, we are obese. It
is clear we must increase the level of physical activity and we must change
eating habits."

Aggie Adamczyk, of Health Canada, said it's particularly interested in the
obesity, tobacco and cannabis figures.

At 4.5 per cent for girls and 3.8 per cent for boys, our 13-year-olds are
about middle of the pack when it comes to smoking every day. By the time
they reach 15, the percentage reaches 11 per cent for girls and 12.8 per
cent for boys. By comparison, Greenland 15-year-olds are past 50 per cent.

The report shows more Canadian 15-year-olds have used cannabis in the past
year than in any of the other 35 countries. About 37 per cent of girls and
43.3 per cent of boys admitted to using cannabis, more than double the average.

Around 70 per cent of Canadian under-11s eat breakfast, compared with
almost 90 per cent in the Netherlands. As they age, Canadian girls eat
breakfast progressively less - 49.7 per cent at under-13 and 41.5 per cent
at under-15. Boys stand at 62 and 52.8 per cent respectively.

Our youth are in the top 10 when asked if they brush their teeth twice a
day. Girls, at between 74.9 and 82.2 per cent are ahead of boys in every case.

The number of Canadian boys who admit bullying others rises with age - 40.8
per cent among under-11s, 50.4 per cent among under-13s and 54 per cent
among under-15s. That places Canada in the top third; Lithuania topped
every list at 62.1, 76.8 and 79 per cent respectively.

Fifteen-year-olds were asked if they'd had sex. Twenty-four per cent of
girls and 24.7 per cent of boys said yes. Greenland led every other country
at 78.8 for girls and 70.8 for boys.