Sickly Americans, Kindly Portuguese, and Lithuanian Couch Potatoes

Abstract

MOSTLY, WHEN we see comparisons of American children to those in other countries, we find discussions of test scores, an area in which we are all over the board, or poverty, where we are number one by a long shot among developed nations. (With our recent improvement in poverty levels from 21% to 19%, we have merely seven times as many poor children as Finland. Do you suppose that might be one factor in their first-in-the- world reading scores?) The World Health Organization (WHO), though, has surveyed children in a variety of nations on a variety of health- related variables, and the results are, well, fascinating. The headline on this column comes from the fact that, in the 27 countries in the survey, American children have the most physical complaints, Portuguese children are kindliest and most helpful to one another, and Lithuanians watch more TV than anyone else. At the three ages surveyed (11, 13, and 15), almost 90% of Portuguese students report that their classmates are kind and helpful. The Danes are a somewhat distant second in the upper 70s, and the average is somewhere in the upper 50s. The U.S. is next to last, with only 40% saying their classmates are kind and helpful, and in the Czech Republic it's everyone for him- or herself - especially at age 15, when only 30% report nice classmates. The Portuguese and Danish children stay nice as they get older, but in most countries the kindliest children are the youngest. Girls report nicer classmates than boys, except in Lithuania, Greenland, Estonia, and France. American students report more stomachaches and backaches than anyone else, and they get more headaches than everyone except Israelis. About 40% of American boys and 30% of American girls report at least one monthly stomachache or backache, while 50% of boys and 35% of girls get monthly headaches. Almost two-thirds of Israeli boys report headaches, but only 45% of Israeli girls are so afflicted. Nervousness, though, is not an American trait. Only 5% of American youngsters report taking medication for nervousness once a month. Children in Greenland top this list. About 20% report medicating their nerves at least once a month, and by the time they're 15 the figure has grown to 29% for boys and 34% for girls. About 85% of German and Austrian males report exercising at least two hours a week, as do 70% of the females. For the Americans, the figures are about 65% for the boys and just half that for the girls, putting American children just above average. Latvian, Portuguese, and Russian children, especially girls, stir themselves least. About 40% of Latvian boys and 20% of Latvian girls work up a sweat for at least two hours a week. The Latvian and Russian children are also watching a lot of TV, but they are not tops in this category. Lithuanian, Slovakian, and Israeli children are winners here. About 50% of them watch four or more hours of TV per day. American children start near the top as 11-year-olds, but they watch less as they get older, falling to average as 13-year- olds and well below average as 15-year-olds. The percentage watching four or more hours a day declines from 35% at age 11 to about 25% at age 15, while the gender difference increases at each successive age, with boys watching more. In Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Finland, youngsters are glued to computer games, and in all nations playing computer games is a boy thing. About half of the boys in these countries report playing more than four hours a week. Northern Irish girls are tops here at 15% for the younger ages, but only 5% for the 15-year-olds. American and Canadian girls are also high at the younger ages (14% and 12%), but they too find other amusements as they get older. At the bottom are Portuguese and Hungarian girls, with about 3%. About 25% of American boys play computer games for four hours or more each week. Finland appears to have the biggest gender difference. …