The lifestyle and health status of Spanish schoolchildren has deteriorated after the pandemic and especially among those who belong to lower-income families and environments. The definitive results of the Pasos 2022 report coordinated by the Gasol Foundation show that since 2019 health inequalities among children have increased according to the socioeconomic level of their families.
In three years, the state of health perceived by the children themselves has fallen six points on average, but the loss is around nine points among the 25% of children with the lowest income and instead it is only 4 points among the 25% less than lives in environments with more resources.
And it's not just a matter of perception, of how the children themselves feel. The data collected by the 14 research groups that collaborate in the Pasos study show that the poverty and socioeconomic vulnerability of their families is leaving their mark on the lifestyles of future generations.
The percentage of children between the ages of 8 and 16 who feel sad, worried or unhappy is higher in the population with less income. And it is this group that most fails to comply with the recommendations for hours of sleep or time in front of the screens, especially during the week, and also the one that presents the least adherence to the Mediterranean diet, and the one that has most reduced the time spent practicing exercise or physical activity. Perhaps for this reason they are also the group with the highest prevalence of childhood obesity.
"We are facing an extremely worrying situation, with serious consequences in the short, medium and long term, because we are seeing an accelerated deterioration in the lifestyle of children, especially among those who live in situations of socioeconomic vulnerability", has affirmed the executive director of the Gasol Foundation, Cristina Ribes, when presenting the report.
The global director of Research and Programs of the foundation, Santi F. Gómez, has provided some information. The prevalence of obesity in the child and adolescent population that attends educational centers located in a census section with the lowest average income per person is 15.4%, while it is 8.7% among the 25% of the sample with the highest income. "In particular, it is observed that the prevalence of severe obesity doubles (2% versus 0.9%) among children who are located in the most disadvantaged group compared to those with more resources," the study details.
And when the type of diet is analyzed, practically 17% of the child and adolescent population classified in the group with the highest child poverty has a low level of adherence to the Mediterranean diet, compared to 10.1% of the population with more resources.
Regarding the abuse of screens, the average daily minutes dedicated to them among children who attend schools located in areas with the highest child poverty is 209.7 during the week and 301.8 at the weekend. On the other hand, among those enrolled in educational centers located in neighborhoods with less child poverty there are 173.4 during the week and 287.8 at the weekend, figures that also exceed the data from the previous study (2019-2020) which were already worrisome, but that are less far from the recommendations of the experts.
These data are undoubtedly related to the worsening in the sleep and physical activity habits of Spanish children as reported in the Pasos study presented today. The percentage of children who do not sleep the recommended daily hours has increased by 4.8% in the last three years, which have been greatly affected by the covid pandemic.
In this period, it can be seen that the practice of physical activity has also decreased by almost 50 minutes a week, although the deterioration is greater in environments with a higher percentage of child poverty, where the decline is almost 100 minutes a week.
But the study also shows some marked differences in well-being and health based on the sex of the children. 32.2% of the population analyzed (3,201 children and adolescents between the ages of 8 and 16, from 245 Spanish educational centers) declare having problems related to their emotional well-being, while in 2019 that percentage did not reach 20%. And growth is much higher in the case of girls and adolescents, since 40% claim to have problems, compared to 24% of men.
Emotional discomfort after the pandemic is also higher among the oldest (42.4% in the 12-16 age group) and in the group most affected by child poverty (30%).
