Successful prevention Alcohol and tobacco consumption among young people declines sharply

Encouraging decrease in tobacco and alcohol consumption in adolescents

The consumption of alcohol and tobacco is associated with numerous health risks and the foundations for a lifelong addiction are often already laid in children and adolescents. In recent years, therefore, measures of prevention have been increasingly taken - apparently with success. According to a recent analysis of the data from the long-term study KiGGS, the adolescents in Germany today drink and smoke significantly less than they did ten years ago.

"Tobacco and alcohol use are among the leading preventable risk factors for a variety of diseases with long-term effects, including on premature mortality," reports the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). The RKI's current data analysis shows that while 51 percent of 11- to 17-year-olds have already tried alcohol, this is 13 percent less than it was ten years ago. Tobacco consumption is even more pronounced: while ten years ago 21.4 percent of adolescents at least occasionally smoked, in the current analysis only about seven percent of 11- to 17-year-olds smoke (3.7 percent smoke daily)..

The consumption of alcohol in adolescents has fortunately dropped significantly in the last ten years. (Image: patrickjohn71 / fotolia.com)

12 percent of adolescents with risky alcohol consumption

"Since in the youth phase the course is set for the health behavior in later life and it is known that for adolescents early entry promotes a later regular consumption of alcohol and tobacco, it is a public health goal that young people should not smoke and become a responsible and low-risk alcohol handling, "says the RKI. In particular, regular or high-risk alcohol consumption, which continues to be practiced by 12 percent of adolescents, and regular binge drinking, which seven percent of respondents reported, are extremely critical.

Binge drinking is more common among boys

According to the RKI, there are also differences between the behavior of girls and boys in the risky consumption of alcohol and binge drinking. Although girls consume more alcoholic beverages at risky levels, more boys than girls practice having a binge drinking. However, the development over the past ten years is altogether pleasing. The decline in tobacco and alcohol consumption points to the success of preventive measures, the RKI concludes.

Income situation with significant impact on child health

The data analysis of the long-term study KIGSS has also shown that children and adolescents with low socioeconomic status are also often worse off in terms of health. They often eat unhealthy food (compared to their peers from better-off families), exercise less often, and are more likely to be overweight or obese, reports the RKI.

Too little sports and exercise

The sports behavior of adolescents remains to be improved overall. Only 54 percent of girls exercise at least 90 minutes a week. At least 63% of boys are, but there is still a lot of room for improvement here. 180 minutes of sports per week reach only 31 percent of girls and 45 percent of boys.

Dietary behavior continues to improve

In terms of nutrition, there was a welcome decline in consumption of confectionery and sugary drinks compared to the KiGGS baseline survey ten years ago, but on the other hand, 11-17 year olds in particular eat significantly fewer vegetables today, according to the RKI. Accordingly, there is still a need for action in both nutritional behavior and physical activity, with the RKI recalling in particular the role model function of parents. (Fp)