The National Survey of School Health (Pense) presents information on students’ health conditions, in a previously unseen survey on the theme at IBGE ...

 

 

The National Survey of School Health (Pense) presents information on students’ health conditions, in a previously unseen survey on the theme at IBGE and the first survey, in the history of the Institute, in which the surveyed persons answered the questionnaire directly in the handheld computer. This manner of collecting information gave informers privacy to answer questions about family, health, violence, use of alcohol and drugs, and sexual behavior. Information showed that more than half of the 618.5 thousand students of private and public schools who attend the 9^th year of elementary school in the capitals and the Federal District – most in the 13-15 age group – are inactive or insufficiently active¹ in relation to physical activity. Considering only the girls, the percentage almost reaches 70%. Approximately 80% of them watch TV for at least two hours a day, when two hours is the limit recommended by the World Health Organization. The consumption of sweets² and soft drinks surpassed that of fresh fruits. The consumption of fresh fruits was 31.5%, whereas the proportion of students who consumed sweets, in five or more days in the week prior to the survey, was 50.9%, and the percentage of students who consumed soft drinks was 37.2%. 

 

Among the surveyed students, 24.2% have already tried cigarettes, and 6.3% smoked them in any of the 30 days prior to the survey. The consumption of alcoholic drinks was more diffuse than smoking: 71.4% had already tasted alcohol, 27.3% consuming it in the month prior to the survey. Almost 20% declared to have obtained the beverage in supermarkets or bars, and 12.6% at home. Students who had already got drunk were 22.1%. Pense also verified that 8.7% of the students have already used any illegal drug³. Besides, the survey shows 30.5% of students have already had sexual intercourse: 43.7% male and 18.7% female students. Although most students (87.5% of public schools and 89.4% of private schools) had information about AIDS or other sexually transmitted diseases, 24.1% of them had not used condoms in the last intercourse.

 

Data on violence show that almost a third of students (30.8%) answered they had suffered bullying⁴, what was verified more frequently in students of private schools (35.9%) than in those of public schools (29.5%). In the 30 days prior to the survey, 12.9% of the students became involved in a quarrel with physical aggression, the proportion reaching 17.5% of boys and 8.9% of girls, including the use of white weapons (6.1% of students) or firearms, declared by 4% of them. Among the surveyed students, 58.3% lived with both parents, 31.9% lived only with the mother, 4.6% lived only with the father, and 5.2% lived neither with the mother nor with the father. Almost 10% of the students declared to have suffered aggression by an adult of the family. 

 

The National Survey on School Health (Pense) estimated as 618,555 the number of students taking the 9th grade of elementary school in Brazilian capitals and in the Federal District. Out of this figure, 293,596 (47.5%) were male and 324,958 (52.5%), female ones. Almost 80% of the students (489,865) attended public schools, whereas 20.8% (128,690) attended private ones. The lowest percentages of students in public schools were observed in Vitória (61.9%), Natal (62.2%), Aracaju (66.2%) and Teresina (66.5%). The sample included 60,973 students of the 9th grade of elementary school, in 1,453 public and private schools, of all capitals and of the Federal District (DF). 

The age structure observed among survey participants revealed that 89.1% of the students taking the 9th grade were between 13 and 15 years of age, a segment considered by the WHO as a reference for the studies of teenage students. It is worth mentioning that 47.1% were 14 years of age. Among all capitals and the Federal District, 10.2% of the students were aged 16 or over, and the biggest percentages were those of Salvador (21.8%), Aracaju (19.3%) and Maceió (18.8%).

 

Over half of the students are inactive or insufficiently active regarding physical activity

 

In the group of capitals and Federal District, 56.9% of the students were inactive or insufficiently active in terms of practice of physical activity. Girls participating in the categories inactive and insufficiently active reached 68.7% of the total, whereas boys amounted to 43.8%. The percentage observed in these categories among public school students (57.4%) was bigger that among those from private schools (54.9%).

 

The biggest percentages of inactive or insufficiently active students occurred in São Luís (65.8%) and Maceió (64.5%). The smallest percentages were those of Florianópolis (48.5%) and Curitiba (49.0%).

 

The attendance of students who had 2 or more days of physical education in the last seven days in the group of capitals and Federal District was 49.2%. The smallest proportion was that of Macapá (16.6%) and the biggest one of Florianópolis (83.2%).

 

Students of public schools declared to miss core classes without informing parents or responsible ones

 

The survey showed that 20.7% of the students of public schools of Brazilian capitals and Federal District missed classes without permission from parents or other responsible ones, in the period of 30 days preceding the survey; in private schools this percentage was 10.1%. For the total group of capitals and Federal Government, the figure was 18.5%, in both types of school.

 

The capital where the biggest percentage of students missed classes without permission from responsible ones was Cuiabá (23.4%);the smallest percentage was found in Teresina (12.4%).

 

 

 

 

Sweets overcome fruits in consumption

 

A total 37.2% of students consumed sweets, five or more days in the week before the survey, with percentage ranging from 25.3% in São Luís to 47.0% in Cuiabá. In all capitals and in the Federal District, the consumption of sweets (50.9%) was bigger than that of fresh fruits (31.5%); the same occurred to the consumption of soft drinks (37.2%). The consumption of sweets five or more days in the week preceding the survey was more significant among female students (58.3%) than among male ones (42.6%).

 

The consumption of French fries five or more days a week was 4.7% and the consumption of fried appetizers, 12.5% in the group of capitals and Federal District. In both cases there were significant differences between the sexes. However, there was bigger consumption of fried appetizers among students from private schools (14.3%) than among those from public ones (12.0%).

 

Seasoned food was consumed by 18.8% of female students and by 19.5% of students from private schools. Sweet cookies (35.8%) and crackers (38.2%) were mainly consumed by female students and also by students from public schools (crackers: 37.5%; sweet cookies: 34.6%) compared to consumption in private schools (31.4 and 29.7 %).

 

Beans is the healthiest food product consumed by students

 

Among items considered as healthy food, the biggest percentage of consumption was that of beans (62.6%), more often consumed by male students (68.3%) than female ones (57.4%) and among students of public schools (65.8%) compared to those in private ones (50.1 %).

 

Most of the students in Brazilian capitals and the Federal District used to have five or more meals at the presence of their mothers or other responsible ones, reaching 62.6% of the total, with the lowest result being observed in Salvador (54.3%) and the highest one, in Florianópolis (72.7%). 

 

Considering the consumption of green vegetables five or more days a week, the difference was bigger among students from private schools (34.3%) and those from public ones (30.4%). There were not any significant differences in the comparison between sexes (female: 31.3% and male: 31.2%) for the total of the survey.

 

Fresh fruits were consumed five days or more, in the week before the survey, by 31.5% of students, without any significant difference by sex or administrative dependence of the school in the group of capitals and Federal District. The consumption of milk was bigger among male students (58.3%), than among female ones  (49.4%), the same way it was bigger among students from private schools (60.7%) than from public ones (51.7%).

 

 

Percentage of female teenagers who brushed their teeth was bigger than that of male ones

 

In Pense, the proportion of persons who declared to brush their teeth three or more times a day was 73.6%, ranging from 82.8% (Macapá) to 65.5% (Federal District). The habit was more common among women (76.9%) than among men (69.8%). The percentages of this indicator were 74.4% for students from public schools and 70.2%, for students from private ones. Among the persons interviewed, 16.2% had suffered from toothache in the last six months, having changed from 12.4% (Vitória) to 20.6% (Boa Vista). Females students (18.3%) were more often affected by toothache than male ones (13.8%). Concerning administrative dependence of schools, the major occurrence of students suffering from toothache in the last 6 months was observed in public schools (17.3%). The percentage among students of private schools reached 11.7%.

 

Students who saw themselves as thin persons outnumbered those saw themselves as fat ones

 

Pense evaluated students’ perception of their own image, according to their classification into the categories: thin or very thin; average; fat or very fat. T total 22.1% considered themselves to be very fat. The proportion of male students who students who saw themselves as very thin persons was 23.0%, whereas among women this figure was 21.4%. A total 17.7% declared to be fat or very fat. Female students who saw themselves the same way made up 21.3%.

 

The percentage of students who were doing something in order to lose, put on or keep their weight was 62.8%, and, considering women, 65.0%. However, a fact that calls attention is that one third of the female students 33.3% was doing something in order to lose weight. Among male ones, the normal occurrence was 60.2%. This percentage was distributed as follows: lose weight (20.9%), put on weight (17.9) and keep their weight (21.4%). Finally, 6.9% reported to have vomited and/or taken medicine to control their weight; the smallest percentage of this group was found in Florianópolis (4.7%) and the biggest, in Boa Vista (9.8%).

 

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¹ Individuals who have 1 to 149 minutes of physical activity a week are considered inactive; those who have 150 to 299 minutes/week are considered insufficiently active; persons who have over 300 minutes of physical activity per week and commute to school on foot or by bicycle, and have physical education classes or other similar activities are considered active.

 

² Sweets are candies, bonbons, chewing gum, chocolate, and lollipops.

 

³ They were asked about the consumption of marijuana, cocaine, crack, glue, and other solvents, perfume sprays containing ether and ecstasy.

 

⁴ Bullying encompasses behavior involving different levels of violence, ranging from inappropriate or hostile disturbance to openly aggressive behavior, verbal or non-verbal, intentional and repeated, without any apparent reason, caused by one or more students and affecting others and consequently leading to feelings of anguish, exclusion, humiliation, discrimination and others. In specific literature another term adopted is victimization.

 

 

 

 

 

41.7% of the students in the capitals and in the Federal district did not live with their father or mother  

 

Considering all capitals and the Federal District, 58.3% of the students lived with their father or mother, being the smallest percentage that of Rio Branco (48.3%) and the biggest one, that of Curitiba (62.8%). Students who lived with their mothers only made up 31.9% of the total, results ranging from 25.6% in Teresina and 38.1% in Rio Branco. Only 4.6% of the students lived with their fathers. In this case, the smallest percentage was in Fortaleza (3.1%) and the biggest one (7.6%), in Porto Velho. The occurrence of students who lived without the presence of their mother or father, in the group of capitals, was 5.2%, with the smallest percentage in Belo Horizonte (3.5%) and the biggest one, in São Luís (10.5%).

 

1/4 of students’ mothers did not have any schooling or had not finished elementary school

 

The percentage of students whose mothers did not have any level of schooling or had only elementary school or had not finished elementary school was 25.9%. On the other hand, the percentage of students whose mothers had completed higher education was 16.1%. The biggest and smallest percentages of students whose mothers did not have any schooling or had only incomplete elementary school were found in Maceió (37.7%) and smallest in Vitória (19.2%). The latter and the Federal District presented the biggest percentages of students whose mothers had complete higher education (26.9% and 20.9%, respectively). A total 18.5% of students did not know their mother’s level of schooling.

 

Attendance of students from private schools whose mothers had completed higher education was six times over that of students from public schools, respectively, 46.9% and 8.0%. When the analysis approached mothers who had not finished elementary school, the proportion of students in public schools was 27.6% versus 4.7% in private ones.

 

Almost ¼ of the students has already tried cigarettes

 

A cigarette was tried at least once by 24.2% of students. Curitiba is the capital with the highest index (35%), followed by Campo Grande (32.7%) and Porto Alegre (29.6%). There was no significant difference with reference to sex: among male students, 24.4% had tried a cigarette at least once; among females ones, 24.0%. Students from public schools were more exposed to this situation (25.7%) than students from private schools (18.3%).

 

The current use of cigarettes was measured among those who had consumed it at a moment in the 30 days preceding the survey, regardless of the frequency and intensity of consumption: 6.3% of students had smoked a cigarette. Curitiba and Campo Grande feature in the first and second positions among the capitals, with respectively 9.9% and 9.3%. Maceió (3.8%) and Vitória (3.9%) were the capitals with the smallest percentages.

 

Pense shows that 31% of students had at least one smoking parent or responsible one. In Porto Alegre, the figure reached 39.8%, and in Salvador 22.6%. The number of students in public schools who had at least one smoking parent or responsible one was bigger than in private schools, respectively, 32.9% and 23.6%. When asked about the reaction of their families at their smoking cigarettes, 95.5% of students declared their families would care a lot in this case. Only 1.3 % said their parents would not mind.

 

Almost 20% of the youngster who consumed alcohol got it in supermarkets and 12.6% in their own home

 

A total 71.4% of students declared to have tried some type of alcoholic drink. The percentage changed from 55.1% (Macapá) to 80.7% (Curitiba). The biggest percentage of alcohol trying occurred among women  (73.1%), but the figure relative to men was also high (69.5%). This figure was also higher in private schools (75.7%) than in public ones (70.3%).

 

Considering consumption of alcohol in the 30 days preceding the survey, it was confirmed by 27.3% of the students in the group of 26 capitals and Federal District. The lowest percentage was found in Rio Branco (16.0%), and the highest ones in Curitiba and Porto Alegre 36.4%. The most common way of getting alcohol was at parties (36.6%), followed by purchase at markets, supermarkets, stores or bars (19.3%). Other 15.8% of the students had gotten it from friends and 12.6%, in their own home.

 

A total 22.1% had gotten drunk at least once. Fortaleza (15.7%) was the capital with the lowest percentage of reported episodes of drunkenness and Curitiba (30.0%) had the highest frequency. The proportion of students from public schools who had consumed alcohol until they got drunk was 22.8%; from private schools, 19.4%. When asked about the reaction of their families at their getting home drunk, 93.8% said their parents would care a lot. Percentages were above 90% in all capitals.

 

 

Lack of security reached almost 10% of students in public schools

 

Pense investigated topics related to security while commuting to school and in school, physical aggression, use of weapons, bullying and security in traffic. The proportion of students who were not longer attending school because they did not feel safe on the way to or from school, in the 30 days preceding the survey was 6.4%. The biggest percentages were those of Belém (7.8%) and Maceió (7.7%), and the smallest of Florianópolis (4.3%). Considering public schools (9.7%), the percentage was 76% higher than that of private schools (5.5%). The proportion of students who quit school because they did not feel safe reached 5.5%, having changed from  3.4% (Porto Velho) to 7.3% (Macapá).

 

Pense investigated bullying through the following question: “In the last 30 days, how often did any of your colleagues made fun of you, teased you, goofed on you, or intimidated you so much that you felt hurt/annoyed/ angry?” Results show that almost one third of the students (30.8%) reported having been undergone bullying . The percentage of students who were subject to this kind of violence, either rarely or sometimes, was 25.4%  and the proportion of persons who declared to have undergone most of the times or always was 5.4%.

 

The phenomenon reached more male students (32.6%) than female ones (28.3%). When compared to administrative dependence of schools, the occurrence of bullying was ore often observed among students of private schools (35.9%) than among those of public ones (29.5%).

 

 

12.9% of the students declared to have participated in some kind of fight in the month preceding the survey data collection

 

Data on violence also revealed that 12.9% of the students had participated in some kind of fight resulting in at least one person hurt, in the 30 days preceding the survey. This type of violence was 17.5% among men, almost twice as the percentage observed among women (8.9%). The capital with the biggest percentage of students who had been involved in fights with physical aggression was Curitiba (18.1%), and the smallest one,  Teresina (8.4%).

 

Concerning fights with white weapons, 6.1% of students declared to be involved in one, in the last 30 days; most of these students were male (9.0%), and not female ones (3.4%). The biggest proportion was found in  Boa Vista (9.5%), and the smallest in Porto Velho (4.1%). Participation in gunfights was mentioned by 4% of the students, being more common among male (6.0%), than female ones (2.3%). Boa Vista (9.4%) and Curitiba (9.2%) presented the biggest percentages of male students involved in gunfights. The smallest percentage was observed in Teresina (4.0%). Also mentioned was the occurrence of physical aggression by na adult from the family: 9.5% of students underwent aggression caused by some grown-up member of the family. Percentages ranged from 6.6% (Florianópolis) to 11.7% (Recife).

 

Pense data also showed that 18.7% of students were carried, in the last 30 days preceding the survey, in vehicles driven by drivers who had consumed alcohol. In Goiânia, the occurrence of situations like that reached 23.4%; in Manaus, 14.4%. Private school students were more exposed to this risk (23.8%), than those of public ones (17.3%).

 

 

About 24% had not used a condom in their last sexual intercourse 

 

Pense revealed that 30.5% of students have already had a sexual intercourse. The percentage is bigger among men (43.7%). Among women, 18.7% had already had a sexual intercourse. Salvador and Boa Vista were the capitals in which the biggest proportion of students declared to have had sexual intercourses; the latter had the biggest percentage among male students. Figures in capitals ranged from 25.3% (Vitória) to 40.4% (Boa Vista). Public schools had more students who had already begun sexual life (33.1%), when compared to private ones (20.8%).

 

A total 75.9% declared to have used a condom in their last sexual intercourse. The smallest percentage of condom use was that of São Luís (68.3%), and the biggest one in Rio Branco (82.1%). Pense indicates that 87.5% of public school students and 89.4% of those in private schools had received information about AIDS or other sexually transmitted diseases. Guidance on pregnancy prevention had reached 82.1% of the students in private schools and 81.1% of students in public schools. The survey also shows that 71.4% and 65.4% of the students were informed about free acquisition of condoms, respectively, in public and private schools.

 

 

Pense showed that 8.7% of students have already some kind of illegal drug

 

Pense showed that 8.7% of students have already tried some kind of illegal drug such as marijuana, cocaine, crack, glue and other solvents, perfume sprays containing ether and ecstasy. The biggest percentage was that of Curitiba (13.2%), and the smallest one, of Macapá (5.3%). Men were the majority considering use of illegal drugs compared to women (10.6% versus 6.9%).