Changing health habits for adolescents in Madrid.

22 Aug, 2006

A survey published by SIVFRENT under the auspices of the department of public health has found that 15 and 16-year-olds in Madrid take fewer drugs, smoke less, drink less alcohol and drive more carefully than their counterparts ten years ago. However the study, carried out on 2,000 students in their fourth year of compulsory secondary education (ESO) in the Spanish capital, showed a pattern of poor eating habits, with over 70 per cent eating meat meals at least twice a day, accompanied by bread and salty snacks, and nearly 40 percent eating no vegetables at all. At the same time one in four of the adolescents surveyed indicated weight and body image as a major concern. Physical activity was described as inadequate for nearly half the girls and for over ten percent of boys, while over 16 percent of boys and nearly 8 percent of girls in the sample were found to be obese.