The Health Promotion Bureau has disclosed concerning trends among school-aged children in the country, with a notable inclination towards suicidal thoughts among students.
Medical professionals suggest that diminished interactions between parents and children, exacerbated by the parents’ frequent engagement with mobile phones and social media, might contribute to this distressing trend.
Adolescence, defined as the age range from 10 to 19 years, represents a crucial developmental phase marked by significant physical, mental, and social changes. Experts emphasize the importance of close monitoring during this period. Currently, 3.5 million individuals within the nation’s 22 million population fall into this adolescent category.
In 2024, the Bureau undertook the ‘Global School Health Survey’ involving 2,585 students aged 13 to 17 to gather insights into adolescent behaviors, updating data last collected in 2016. This survey highlighted several troubling aspects regarding both physical and mental health among children.
Physically, 21.4% of the students surveyed were underweight, 12.1% overweight, and 3% obese. Additionally, 4.3% reported often skipping breakfast due to a lack of food at home.
Mentally, the findings are equally alarming: 22.4% of students frequently felt intense loneliness over the past year, and 7.5% lacked close friends. Depression rates stood at 18%, with a particularly concerning 15.4% of students feeling a strong compulsion towards suicide, and 9.6% having devised plans for such an act.
Substance use has also risen; 5.7% of students smoked and 5.3% consumed alcohol, marking an increase from previous figures. Cannabis use was reported at 3.2%, up from 2.1% reported in the previous survey.
Another significant concern is sleep deprivation, with 63% of students sleeping less than eight hours on school nights. Additionally, 28.4% of children were found to spend over three hours daily on non-educational internet or social media use via mobile devices.
Given these findings, healthcare professionals strongly urge parents to increase vigilance over their children’s behaviors and well-being.
