Eating habits, screen time, physical activity: P.E.I. student health, by the numbers

The P.E.I. government released the results of its annual student health survey on Tuesday. Here's a quick look at some of the results.

The survey included students in 18 schools from Grades 7 through 12. Among the participating schools, 64 per cent of students completed the survey.

P.E.I. is one of five provinces participating in the COMPASS survey project out of the University of Waterloo.

Eating habits

The survey found P.E.I. students were much less likely than students in other provinces participating in the COMPASS survey to eat fruits and vegetables every day.

The survey also found five per cent of students sometimes went to bed hungry because there is not enough money to buy food in their household.

Physical activity

While the survey found many areas for concern, it found an improvement in the number of students meeting the federal guideline of 60 minutes of physical activity every day. The percentage rose from 67 per cent last year to 78 per cent.

Screen time

While more students are physically active, the average time they are spending on screens is still almost four times what is recommended in national guidelines.

Students are spending an average 7.9 hours on screens, with social media being the top activity.

The survey also revealed an average of 0.9 hours spent on homework.

Tobacco

The survey found little change in e-cigarette and cigarette use.

Eight per cent have smoked a cigarette in the last 30 days, and 18 per cent used an e-cigarette.

The survey asked why students used e-cigarettes, and quitting smoking came a distant third.

Alcohol and cannabis

Drinking alone was identified as an important concern in the survey.

The number of students reporting drinking alcohol in the previous 30 days was 27 per cent. Of those, about a third reported drinking while alone.

Only about half as many students reported using cannabis, but it was much more common for cannabis users to consume while on their own, with 59 per cent reporting using edibles or smoking cannabis in the previous 30 days.

Use of cannabis rose from 9 per cent to 13 per cent, despite the new inclusion of Grade 7 and 8 students in this survey. Students are much less likely to be using cannabis in these grades.

Bullying

Reports of bullying are up, from 17 per cent to 29 per cent.

Verbal abuse was the most common form of bullying, with physical attacks reported by 5 per cent of students.

Mental health

There was a significant difference in the reported mental health of female versus male students, with 72 per cent of males reporting good, very good, or excellent mental health, and just 50 per cent of females.

Perceived mental health also declined significantly with age. In Grade 7, 70 per cent reported their mental health as good or better; by Grade 12 that had declined to 50 per cent. That decline was matched by daily physical activity, which dropped from 83 per cent in Grade 7 to 68 per cent in Grade 12.