v BODY WEIGHT, PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, NUTRITION & HEALTH CARE v

 The next section of the survey asked several questions about nutrition, body weight, physical activity and access to health care.

 Healthy Maine Year 2000 Goal

  ·          Improve the health of teens and young adults and improve access to preventive health care services.

  Healthy Maine Year 2000 Objectives

  ·          Reduce dietary fat intake to an average of 30% of calories or less and average saturated fat intake to less than 10% of calories among people aged two and older.

  ·          Increase complex carbohydrates and fiber-containing foods in the diets of adults to five or more servings of vegetables (including legumes) and fruits, and to six or more servings for grain products.

  ·          Increase, to at least 50%, the proportion of overweight individuals aged 12 and older who have adopted sound dietary practices, combined with regular physical activity to attain an appropriate body weight.

  ·          Increase, to 90%, the proportion of school lunch and breakfast services and child care food services with menus that are consistent with the nutrition principles in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

  

 BODY WEIGHT

  ·                      One-half of middle school students (51%) describe their weight as just about right.  While 32% of middle school students feel that they are overweight (either very or slightly), 17% believe that they are underweight (either very or slightly).

  ·                      Female middle school students (36%) are more likely than male middle school students (28%) to believe that they are very or slightly overweight.

  

·                     Fifty-three percent of high school students (53%) believe that they are just about the right weight.  Thirty-two percent (32%) describe their weight as overweight (either very or slightly), and 15% indicated that they are underweight (either very or slightly).

  ·                      Female high school students (40%) were much more likely than male high school students (24%) to describe their weight as very or slightly overweight.

   

·                      Nearly one-half of middle school students (46%) indicated that they are currently trying to lose weight.  Twenty-four percent of middle school students (24%) are not trying to do anything about their weight, and 21% are trying to maintain their current weight.  Only 9% are trying to gain weight.

·                      Nearly six in ten female middle school students (57%) are trying to lose weight, compared with less than four in ten male middle school students (35%).  Meanwhile, male students attending middle school (14%) are more likely than female middle school students (4%) to be trying to gain weight.

  

·                      Nearly one-half of high school students (46%) are currently trying to lose weight.  Twenty-three percent of high school students (23%) are not trying to do anything about their weight, and 16% are trying to maintain their current weight.  Fourteen percent (14%) are trying to gain weight.

·                      Similar to the middle school results, female high school students (63%) are significantly more likely than male high school students (28%) to be trying to lose weight.  Male high school students (26%) are much more likely than female students attending high school (4%) to be trying to gain weight.

     

·                      Two-thirds of middle school students (68%) have exercised to lose weight or to keep from gaining weight. 

 ·                      Nearly one-half of students attending middle school (46%) have dieted (eaten less food, fewer calories, or foods low in fat) in order to lose weight or to keep from gaining weight, and two in ten (19%) have fasted (gone without eating for 24 hours or more) to lose weight or to keep from gaining weight.

 ·                      Nine percent of students attending middle school (9%) have taken diet pills, powders, or liquids without a doctor’s advice in order to keep from gaining weight or to lose weight, and 8% have vomited or taken laxatives for weight control.

 ·                      Female middle school students are much more likely than male middle school students to have exercised, dieted, fasted, taken diet pills, or vomited or taken laxatives in order to lose weight or keep from gaining weight.

   

·                      Approximately six in ten high school students (59%) exercised to lose weight or to keep from gaining weight in the 30 days preceding the survey. 

·                      Forty-four percent of students attending high school (44%) dieted (ate less food, fewer calories, or foods low in fat) in order to lose weight or to keep from gaining weight in the 30 days preceding the survey, and 13% fasted (went without eating for 24 hours or more) to lose weight or to keep from gaining weight.

·                      Almost one in ten students attending high school (9%) took diet pills, powders, or liquids without a doctor’s advice in the 30 days preceding the survey in order to keep from gaining weight or to lose weight, and 7% vomited or took laxatives for weight control in the 30 days prior to taking the survey.

·                      Female high school students were much more likely than male high school students to have exercised, dieted, or fasted in the 30 days preceding the survey in order to lose weight or keep from gaining weight.

 v NUTRITION v

  NUTRITION

 ü                  More than eight in ten high school students (84%) drank 100% fruit juice at least once in the seven days preceding the survey.  Twenty-three percent of students (23%) drank 100% fruit juice at least twice per day.

 ü                  The majority of high school students (87%) ate fruit one or more times in the seven days preceding the survey.  Female students (90%) were somewhat more likely than male students (84%) to have had fruit in the week preceding the survey.  One in five students (20%) ate fruit two or more times per day.

 ü                  Approximately three-fourths of high school students (74%) ate green salad at least once in the seven days preceding the survey.  Female students (78%) were slightly more likely than male students (70%) to have had green salad.  Only 13% of students ate green salad every day.

 ü                  Eight in ten high school students (80%) reported that they ate potatoes at least once in the week preceding the survey.  Ten percent of students (10%) ate potatoes each of seven days prior to taking the survey.

 ü                  Six in ten high school students (61%) ate carrots in the seven days preceding the survey.

 ü                  Nearly nine in ten high school students (89%) reported that they ate other vegetables one or more times in the week preceding the survey.  Female students (92%) were more likely than male students (85%) to have eaten another type of vegetable in the seven days preceding the survey.

 ü                  Eighty-eight percent of high school students (88%) drank at least one glass of milk in the seven days preceding the survey.  More than one-half of students (58%) drank at least one glass of milk every day in the week preceding the survey.

 v PHYSICAL ACTIVITY v

 PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

 ü                  One-third of middle school students (34%) exercised or participated in at least 20 minutes of physical activity that made them sweat or breathe hard (such as basketball, soccer, running, swimming laps, fast bicycling, fast dancing, or similar aerobic activities) every day for the seven days preceding the survey.  Only 8% of middle school students did not exercise or participate in at least 20 minutes of physical activity in the week preceding the survey.

 ü                  Male middle school students (41%) were more likely than female middle school students (28%) to have exercised or participated in physical activity every day for the seven days prior to the survey.

 ü                  Approximately one-fourth of high school students (26%) exercised or participated in at least 20 minutes of physical activity that made them sweat or breathe hard every day for the seven days preceding the survey.  Eleven percent of high school students (11%) did not exercise or participate in at least 20 minutes of physical activity in the week preceding the survey.

 ü                  Similar to the middle school results, male high school students (33%) were more likely than female high school students (20%) to have exercised or participated in physical activity during each of the seven days preceding the survey.

 

 ü                  Twenty-one percent of high school students (21%) participated in at least 30 minutes of physical activity that did not make them sweat or breathe hard (such as fast walking, slow bicycling, skating, pushing a lawn mower, or mopping floors) during each of the seven days preceding the survey.  Another 21%, however, did not participate in at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity in the week preceding the survey.

 ü                  Male high school students (25%) were more likely than female high school students (18%) to have participated in moderate physical activity during each of the seven days preceding the survey.

 ü                  One-fourth of high school students (25%) did strengthening or toning exercises during three or four of the seven days preceding the survey.

 ü                  Nearly three in ten high school students (29%) did not do exercises to strengthen or tone their muscles (such as push-ups, sit-ups, or weight lifting) in the seven days preceding the survey.

 ü                  Female high school students (32%) were more likely than male high school students (24%) to report that they did not do any exercises to strengthen or tone their muscles in the week preceding the survey.

  

 ü                  Approximately eight in ten middle school students (81%) reported that they attend physical education (PE) class at least once in an average school week.  Forty-six percent (46%) of high school students attend PE class at least once per week.

 ü                  Students in the lower grades are much more likely than those in the higher grades to attend physical education class (84% [7^th grade] versus 15% [12^th grade]).

 

ü                  The majority of high school students who are enrolled in PE class (80%) exercise or play sports for more than 20 minutes during an average physical education class.

 ü                  Approximately two-thirds of middle school students (68%) indicated that they play on a sports team, including teams run by their school or community groups.

 ü                  Male middle school students (70%) are slightly more likely than female middle school students (66%) to participate on a sports team.

 

ü                  Six in ten high school students (60%) played on one or more sports teams in the 12 months preceding the survey, including teams run by their school or community groups.

 ü                  Male high school students (63%) were more likely than female high school students (57%) to have participated on a sports team in the 12 months preceding the survey.

 

ü                  Approximately six in ten middle school students (61%) have been injured and had to be treated by a doctor or nurse as a result of exercising, playing sports, or being physically active.

 ü                  Older middle school students are more likely than younger middle school students to have required medical treatment due to a sports-related injury (64% [14 years or older] versus 51% [12 years]).  In addition, male middle school students (66%) are more likely than female middle school students (57%) to have leading to treatment by a doctor or nurse as a result of exercising, playing sports, or being physically active.

 

ü                  Almost four in ten high school students (37%) required medical treatment for a sports-related injury in the 12 months preceding the survey.

 ü                  Female high school students (34%) were less likely than male high school students (41%) to have sustained an injury that required medical treatment while exercising, playing sports, or being physically active in the 12 months preceding the survey.

 

 ü                  Thirty-eight percent of middle school students (38%) reported that they watch one hour or less of television on an average school day.  Female middle school students (41%) are more likely than male middle school students (35%) to watch one hour or less of television on an average school day.  Nearly two in ten middle school students (16%) watch television for four or more hours on an average school day.

 ü                  Approximately one-half of high school students (52%) indicated that they watch one hour or less of television on an average school day.  Similar to the middle school results, female high school students (55%) are more likely than male high school students (49%) to watch one hour or less of television on an average school day.  One in ten high school students (11%) watch four or more hours of television on an average school day.

 

ü                  Thirty-one percent of high school students (31%) use a computer for fun or play video games for less than one hour per day on an average school day, and 29% indicated that they do not use a computer for fun or play video games on an average school day.  While 29% of high school students use a computer for fun or play video games for one or two hours on an average school day, 12% do so for three or more hours.

 ü                  Female high school students (35%) are more likely than male high school students (23%) to report that they do not use a computer for fun or play video games on an average school day.

 

v HEALTH CARE v

 

HEALTH CARE

 ü                  Nearly eight in ten high school students (78%) last saw a dentist for a check-up, exam, teeth cleaning, or other dental work within the 12 months preceding the survey.  Ten percent (10%) went to a dentist between 12 and 24 months prior to taking the survey, and12 % last saw a dentist more than 24 months before taking the survey.

 ü                  Female high school students (82%) are more likely than male high school students (75%) to have last gone to a dentist within the 12 months preceding the survey.

 

ü                  The majority of high school students (71%) receive medical care when they need it.  Seven percent of high school students (7%) indicated that they do not go to a doctor or nurse when they need to because it costs too much, and 6% indicated that it is hard to get out of school.

 

ü                  Approximately seven in ten high school students (73%) usually go to their family doctor’s office for health care, and 9% go to a community health center.  Eight percent (8%) never seek health care, and 4% do not go to one usual place.

ü                  Male high school students (12%) were three times more likely than female high school students (4%) to report that they never seek health care.

 

 ü                  One half of high school students (50%) did not miss a day of school in the 30 days preceding the survey due to illness or injury.  Thirty percent (30%)  missed one or two days of school due to illness or injury in the 30 days preceding the survey, and 12% missed three or four days of school.

 ü                  Male high school students (56%) were more likely than female high school students (44%) to have not missed a day of school in the 30 days preceding the survey due to illness or injury.