The percentage of students having sex before the age of 14 increases

At the announcement, Dr. Kidong Park, World Health Organization (WHO) Representative in Vietnam said that the survey was carried out in 21 provinces with more than 7,700 students participating, providing data on factors risk of non-communicable diseases as well as other diseases.

The number of students participating in the survey are from grades 8-12 (corresponding to 13-17 year olds) from 81 schools.

The rate of sexual intercourse among students decreased slightly

Prof. Dr. Tran Van Thuan, Deputy Minister of Health, said that this is the second survey, which has been carefully and scientifically designed, applying standard procedures of the World Health Organization to real research. Status and trends of NCD risk factors and common health behaviors among 13-17 year olds in Vietnam.

Especially behavioral factors related to diet, personal hygiene, disease prevention, tobacco use, alcohol use, physical activity, accidents and injuries, mental health, and other health problems.

Specifically, according to the “Global Student Health Behavior Survey Report in Vietnam 2019” shows that there has been no significant change in the percentage of students who have ever had sex since 2013 ( 6.53%) to 2019 (5.24%).

However, the rate of having sex before the age of 14 doubled, from 1.45% (in 2013) to 3.51% (in 2019).

Among students who had ever had sex, 42.4% used condoms and 44.0% used other methods of contraception, which is lower than in 2013 (respectively). 52.6% and 64.2%). in which 63.0% used a condom in the most recent sexual intercourse.

Having sex before the age of 14 and not using a condom contributes to teenage and unwanted pregnancies as well as high rates of sexually transmitted diseases.

Correct use of condoms can reduce the risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.

The above results raise questions about the need to improve sex education in middle and high schools in Vietnam, the researchers said.

13% of students are lonely

Worth mentioning, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tran Thi Tuyet Hanh, University of Public Health, representative of the research team, said that according to the survey, 13% of children feel lonely most of the time or always lonely. Nearly 7% feel anxious on a regular basis.

In particular, the percentage of children who seriously consider suicide in the past 12 months has decreased slightly, but among 6-7 children, there is still one child who seriously thinks about suicide in the past year.

Although the percentage of students feeling lonely is high, only 30% of parents or guardians understand their child’s anxiety problem. At the same time, only 40% of parents know what their children do in their spare time.

Meanwhile, in adolescence with many changes and disturbances, students need the sharing and companionship of parents to overcome difficulties…

Some improvements in student behavior such as the percentage of students who have ever smoked (cigarettes or pipe tobacco) decreased from 12.14% in 2013 to 8.29% in 2019.

Similarly, the percentage of current smokers (cigarettes or pipes) also decreased from 5.36% in 2013 to 2.78% in 2019. The percentage of current smokers decreased significantly from 4.67% in 2013 to 2.76% in 2019.

The percentage of students who have ever used drugs has decreased positively, from 1.43% in 2013 to 0.65% in 2019.

About a quarter of students (24.1%) are physically active for at least 60 minutes/day five or more days in a week and this is a positive change from 2013 rates (20 ,55% or one-fifth).

However, the proportion of students with overweight and obesity tends to increase, the rate of overweight doubles. Some risk behaviors such as drinking carbonated soft drinks, eating fast food are increased. In which, the rate of eating fast food at least once a week increased from 30.2% to 54.1%.

There were 2.57% of students using e-cigarettes in 2019. These products are relatively new in Vietnam, with almost no or very little use in 2013. Particularly in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, billion This rate is up to 7.9%.