WATCH: A report shows that most of Toronto’s youth are either overweight or obese. Sean Mallen reports.
TORONTO – A new report from Toronto Public Health sheds light on the health of Grade 7 to 12 students in Toronto.
What does it show? Most don’t smoke or use drugs, but one third of students are overweight and just a small minority of students meet Canada’s physical guidelines for youth.
The report notes that only 13 per cent of male students and six per cent of female students met Canada’s physical guidelines. The guidelines suggest youth get at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity each day.
And 29 per cent of kids were overweight or obese with males being more likely than females to be overweight. Only 2 per cent of students weighed less than “what is appropriate” for their age and height.
And students from high income families were less likely to be overweight, with just 26 per cent of kids from the highest subgroup of income being overweight or obese. Thirty-seven per cent of students from the lowest socio-economic group were overweight or obese.
“Those numbers around childhood obesity are not good,” Education Minister Liz Sandals told reporters on Tuesday.
“We know that kids are spending way less time being physically active in their daily life, not just inside school because we sort of point at school as the solution to everything, but in fact, kids live a life outside school.”
The Kathleen Wynne government signed onto the “Active at School” coalition in November which calls for 60 minutes of physical activity each day in schools but not necessarily associated with physical education classes.
Sandals also suggested inactivity is a societal problem with more people – not just students – spending more time in front of television and computer screens than being physically active.
Tobacco, alcohol and drugs
Smoking and tobacco use is, for the most part, low among students at the Toronto District School Board. Only one per cent of kids reported smoking every day but 84 per cent of them reported wanting to quit.
Gay, lesbian and bisexual students were also more likely to smoke with 30 per cent reporting they’ve tried a cigarette.
Most students, 64 per cent, reported being exposed to second-hand smoke in the last 30 days.
And the majority of students haven’t tried alcohol but is the most commonly used drug among students. Twenty-nine per cent of students reported they have tried alcohol in the past 12 months, while 15 per cent reported binge-drinking. The number of students also increased as they got older to 49 per cent of Grade 11 and 12 students who have tried alcohol.
Only 25 per cent of students, 36 per cent of Grade 11 and 12 students, reported using drugs. Marijuana and non-prescription pain killers were the most common.
And 13 per cent of students reported having been in a car with someone who had been drinking or using drugs.
How socio-economic status affects health
The study breaks students into three groups; low, middle, and high socio-economic access (the access the students families have to goods and services). Students from higher income families reported their “general health” at 94 per cent. The number drops with socio-economic status, at 88 per cent for middle access and 83 per cent for low access.
Gay students more likely to be bullied
The self-reported health of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and pansexual students was also far lower than heterosexual students. This same group was also bullied more often than heterosexual students. The report suggests 12 per cent of gay, lesbian or bisexual students were bullied at least once a month, compared to just five per cent of heterosexual students.
Toronto Public Health surveyed 6,053 students between Grade 7 and 12 between January and March, 2014. They used a written questionnaire, the students’ height and weight, and an oral health check to retrieve the data.
– With files from Sean Mallen
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