The Minister of Health, Mónica García, has presented the “Report on the socioeconomic level and lifestyles of the child and adolescent population in Spain”, prepared based on the PASOS Study of the Gasol Foundation, where she pointed out that “the socioeconomic level of families is one of the determining factors of the lifestyles of children and, consequently, the lifestyles of those who live in more vulnerable environments are more deteriorated”.
The event took place at the General Council of Official Colleges of Physicians and was attended by the executive director of the Gasol Foundation, Cristina Ribes; the principal investigator of the PASOS study and global director of Research and Programs of the Gasol Foundation, Santi F. Gómez.
Mónica García stressed that “childhood obesity is a multifaceted challenge that requires a comprehensive and coordinated approach” and that the Ministry of Health “is committed to doing our part and implementing policies that promote a healthy lifestyle from childhood.”
She also recalled that “we know that our efforts will not be enough if we do not address the socioeconomic inequalities that underlie this problem” and that collaboration between different sectors and actors in a holistic manner is therefore important, including the Government as a whole, non-governmental organisations, the private sector and civil society in general.
For this reason, she said that the study that has been presented is a “genuine compass that guides the action of the Ministry and pushes the National Strategic Plan against Childhood Obesity.”
She also highlighted the need to address childhood obesity not only from a health perspective, but also from the comprehensive health of the child population, considering economic, educational and community aspects that affect children and their families.
In this regard, the Minister has stated that the Ministry of Health will promote specific actions, such as continuing to strengthen the use of school playgrounds in the afternoons to encourage healthy habits among children and adolescents. Or the expansion of oral health coverage, a measure contemplated in the National Plan against Childhood Obesity, which will contribute to improving the general health of the child population.
“The fight against childhood obesity is an absolute priority for the Ministry of Health,” she stressed, and that is why Spain is part of the Frontrunner Countries, a group of leading countries in the implementation of innovative strategies against childhood obesity.
Report
The report, prepared using data from the PASOS study, has analysed the health habits of 3,201 children, aged 8 to 16, from all over Spain, and presents particularly worrying conclusions regarding families living in a situation of socio-economic vulnerability.
The Ministry of Health collaborates with this report through the CSAI Foundation.
Santi F. Gómez, Global Director of Research and Programs at the Gasol Foundation and Principal Investigator of the PASOS study, said that “it is essential and urgent to take structural measures and deploy community interventions to promote healthy lifestyle habits that are sensitive to socioeconomic inequalities.”
Among other measures, it is necessary to promote the actions included in the National Strategic Plan for the Reduction of Childhood Obesity, so that all boys and girls, regardless of their socioeconomic level, can grow up in a healthy way.
The main results of the Report are:
Physical activity: The educational level of mothers and fathers or legal guardians is the variable for which the greatest differences are observed in the minutes dedicated to moderate or vigorous physical activity by the parents.
Thus, having or not having university studies represents a daily difference of 11.5 minutes, almost 70 hours less per year in the case of children whose mothers, fathers or legal guardians do not have this level of education.
Inequality increases when combining the three variables of socioeconomic status – level of education, employment status and average income per person/year – and children with worse socioeconomic conditions spend 23 fewer minutes per day doing moderate or vigorous physical activity, which means more than 11 hours per month and almost 140 hours per year less (almost 6 full days per year).
Screen use: Also, for the time spent using screens during the week, the socioeconomic level variable for which the greatest differences are observed is the educational level of mothers, fathers or legal guardians, reaching 50 more minutes per day among children and adolescents with parents without university studies.
Combining the three variables, the child and adolescent population most exposed to socioeconomic vulnerability would be spending around 16 full days more in a year using screens. Throughout their growth, between 8 and 16 years of age, they would be spending around 4.2 full months more using screens.
Diet: As with sleep, the socioeconomic status variable for which the greatest difference in the level of adherence to the Mediterranean diet is found is the educational level of mothers, fathers or legal guardians; specifically 0.84 points less on a 16-point scale.
At the same time, the results indicate that the percentage of children and adolescents with a low level of adherence to the Mediterranean diet is 11.5% higher among the population most exposed to socioeconomic inequalities, already reaching more than 20% of this population.
Sleep: The percentage of children and adolescents who meet the recommended hours of sleep during the week is almost 10% lower among children whose mothers, fathers or legal guardians do not have university studies.
Combining the three socioeconomic status variables, it can be seen that more than 63% of the most advantaged child and adolescent population meets the sleep recommendations, while this percentage is 14.7% lower for the most vulnerable population. This figure is slightly lower at the weekend (9.2%).
Psychological distress: The percentage of children and adolescents who report feeling worried, sad or unhappy is alarming, exceeding 30% in all cases, although of all the variables analysed, it is the one with the smallest differences according to socioeconomic level.
This percentage is 2.4% higher in the population exposed to a lower socioeconomic level.
Perceived health status: Taking into account the three socioeconomic status variables, the perceived health status is 6.4 points higher, on a scale of 0 to 100, among the most advantaged population. Overall, the child and adolescent population self-perceives their health at 79.4 points, which is a lower value than desired for the child and adolescent population aged 8 to 16 years.
