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Teenagers are facing a health timebomb, warned a UK report on
Monday. Under-age sex, binge-drinking, drug abuse, smoking and poor
diet are contributing to epidemics of obesity, ill-health and sexually
transmitted diseases among UK teens.
The British Medical Association (BMA) analysis paints an alarming picture of teenage health in the UK.
Nearly one in five 15-year-olds are overweight or obese.
Psychological problems such as depression and anorexia now afflict one
fifth of adolescents, says the report.
These problems are being fuelled by an increasingly impoverished
diet, insufficient exercise, excessive alcohol and drug consumption,
and tobacco smoking. According to the BMA, less than 15 per cent of
girls aged 13 to 15 eat the recommended amount of fruit and vegetables.
Almost a quarter of 15 and 16-year-olds will have smoked cigarettes
in the past week. And a fifth will have taken an illegal drug in the
last month, says the document.
Sexual health in adolescents is also deteriorating, says the BMA. As
many as one in ten young women aged 16 to 19 may be infected with
Chlamydia, which can lead to infertility and ectopic pregnancy. The
rate of teenage pregnancy is also high - but stable - at around 3 per
cent.
"It seems that adolescents are the only group whose health is
getting worse," says Russell Viner, consultant in adolescent medicine
at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London.
Fast-food industry
"Better drugs are protecting older people from disease and vaccinations have brought huge improvements for infants," Viner told New Scientist.
"But for people in their teens there are social health problems which
mean worrying rates of accidents, suicide, drug use, pregnancy and
sexually transmitted diseases."
The rapid rise in obesity is being blamed by some experts on the
fast-food industry and a society focused increasingly around car use.
Philip James, adviser to the House of Commons select committee on obesity, told New Scientist:
"The whole environment is geared towards selling off playing fields and
preventing people from walking or cycling to work or school.
"As a society we've abandoned any pretence of nurturing children in
an appropriate environment," he adds. "We've told them to eat what they
like and do what they like and failed to inculcate them with good
habits."
Basic social skills
The BMA is calling for a comprehensive plan to tackle the root
causes of deteriorating teenage health. It recommends a ban on alcohol
advertising and an increase in the price of cigarettes to reduce their
affordability to teenagers.
It says mental health can be improved by teaching teenagers basic
social skills and through anti-bullying policies in schools. Sexual
health can be improved by enhancing sex education and through easier
access to contraception and confidential advice.
Vivienne Nathanson, the BMA's head of science and ethics, says:
"Services targeting the needs of adolescents are almost non-existent.
We must invest properly in sexual health and provide services that
young people feel comfortable using if we are to reduce the burgeoning
levels of sexually transmitted diseases.
The study by the BMA's board of science and education, is a comprehensive
analysis of recent studies on adolescent health.
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