Daily Research News Online no. 2965 - Kids' Views of Health, Diet and Stress

Kids' Views of Health, Diet and Stress

March 1 2004

Around two thirds of kids in the US and key western European markets think they are 'healthy', and only one in fourteen think they are not healthy according to recent research by TNS OK (Online Kids).

The report covers Britain, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands and Sweden as well as the US, and follows constant media reporting that children's health is declining as a result of poor diet and lack of exercise.

The report suggests that kids are making the link between physical activity and health. Fewer than half the kids who say they do 'virtually no exercise' claim to be healthy, whereas only about one in 20 of those who say they do some sort of exercise regard themselves as unhealthy.

At the same time, significant variations emerge on a country-by-country basis. For example, only around two in five Swedish girls think they are healthy compared with more than four out of five Italian boys. Kids in France and Germany are the most likely to claim to be healthy and eat healthy food, with Sweden and the US at the other end of the scale. Children in Sweden are the least likely to consider themselves healthy, and those in the US are almost twice as likely as the average across all countries to say they don't eat healthy food. In both Sweden and the US, one in five kids say they 'do no physical activity at all'.

According to Arno Hummerston, Head of TNS Interactive Solutions, 'These perceptions of their own health may not be as accurate as scientific medical tests, but kids - including those from surprisingly young age groups - are showing a real awareness of their diet and other activities which will ultimately have an impact on their health'. However, he adds that 'it is clear that there is still work to be done in encouraging healthy eating and physical activity among certain groups'.

Findings in other areas include:

European kids are twice as likely to receive pocket money (60%) as those in the US (25%)
German kids are twice as likely as US kids to buy CDs
Swedish kids are the least worried of all those surveyed about money - only 40 per cent said that they worry, compared with nearly six out of ten in France and nearly seven out of 10 in the US
Nearly half of all kids surveyed said their parents cause them to be stressed.

In the British survey:

Around six out of ten British children aged nine and under admit to feeling 'stressed out' - the percentage is almost identical for boys and girls - rising to 72% of boys and 77% of girls aged 10-14 years old.
Most blame 'homework' (68%) and 'parents' (59%) as the cause of their anxiety.
Nearly three quarters (72%) of all British kids agreed that 'it is important to have loads of money when you are an adult'
whereas only 11% of all British kids think they are 'not healthy', this rises to 21% of boys and 30% of girls aged 15 or over.

Hummerston points out that British kids 'do not appear to equate feeling stressed with being unhealthy'.

Copies of the TNS OK report are available at www.tns-global.com/tnsokstudy2004

The TNS OK (Online Kids) report is carried out by TNS OK and is based on more than 20,000 interviews conducted online with children aged 5-16 years old in seven countries (Britain, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Sweden and the US) during December 2003. No unsolicited or solicited e-mails are sent and the core of the platform uses a consent and registration approach requiring express parental consent. TNS OK is operated with strict adherence to ESOMAR, CASRO and COPPA codes, rules and guidelines.

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas unless otherwise stated.