Estonian Human Development Report
Estonian Human Development Report - Eesti Koostöö Kogu
Estonian Human Development Report - Eesti Koostöö Kogu
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2.5. Lifestyle and behaviour<br />
as a source of health risks<br />
As stated above, there has been an increase in the prominence<br />
of causes of death related to lifestyles and behaviour,<br />
characteristic of industrial countries. The most common<br />
among these factors are obesity, smoking, and alcoholism.<br />
Estonia is no exception in this regard. However, risks<br />
related to the use of narcotics and sexual behaviour are<br />
becoming more dangerously frequent in Estonia, especially<br />
among young people. In discussing these problems<br />
below, we will be paying special attention to the health and<br />
risk behaviour of youth.<br />
Physical activity<br />
The main cause of excessive weight gain and obesity is<br />
insufficient physical activity. In 2006, 32% of adult men<br />
(ages 16–64) and 30% of women engaged in sports at least<br />
once a week for 30 minutes or more. Of the entire adult<br />
population, 43% engage in sports very rarely or not at all<br />
Figure 2.5.1. Moderate engagement in sports (at<br />
least an hour a day) by age and country<br />
60<br />
50<br />
40<br />
30<br />
20<br />
10<br />
0<br />
11 13 15 11 13 15<br />
Boys<br />
Source: HBSC 2005/2006<br />
Girls<br />
Slovakia<br />
Finland<br />
Latvia<br />
Lithuania<br />
Estonia<br />
Sweden<br />
Switzerland<br />
Figure 2.5.2. Excessive weight (BMI>25) among<br />
people aged 20–64 in new EU member states (%)<br />
59.8 13.6 46.2 Slovakia<br />
57.4<br />
56.6<br />
56.5<br />
55.8<br />
55.4<br />
54.1<br />
53.9<br />
53.2<br />
13.2<br />
46.0<br />
17.8<br />
18.1<br />
13.3<br />
13.5<br />
42.7<br />
17.3<br />
14.6<br />
16.5<br />
9.1<br />
10.1<br />
MEN<br />
44.2<br />
38.7<br />
Source: HealthGAP<br />
38.4<br />
42.5<br />
38.1<br />
39.2<br />
40.4<br />
36.6<br />
36.9<br />
32.5<br />
Czech<br />
Republic<br />
Poland<br />
Hungary<br />
Slovenia<br />
Bulgaria<br />
EU10<br />
Lithuania<br />
Estonia<br />
Romania<br />
Latvia<br />
Bulgaria<br />
Estonia<br />
Hungary<br />
Latvia<br />
Czech<br />
Republic<br />
Lithuania<br />
Slovakia<br />
EU10<br />
Slovenia<br />
Poland<br />
Romania<br />
WOMEN<br />
29.3 15.3<br />
28.2 15.9<br />
26.5 15.7<br />
25.0 15.1<br />
26.9 13.2<br />
24.3 14.0<br />
23.0 14.6<br />
24.6 12.1<br />
25.5 10.8<br />
24.2 10.7<br />
21.5 9.8<br />
44.6<br />
44.1<br />
42.2<br />
40.2<br />
40.1<br />
38.3<br />
37.6<br />
36.7<br />
36.3<br />
34.9<br />
31.3<br />
(Tekkel et al. 2007). These indicators have not changed<br />
significantly during the past ten years, although there<br />
has been a change in the preferred sports (Arvisto et al.<br />
2004).<br />
In youth, physical activity is related, on the one hand,<br />
to good academic results and, on the other hand, to a<br />
greater likelihood of also engaging in sports as an adult.<br />
According to the ESPAD survey, there are fewer drug users<br />
among people who engage in sports (ESPAD, 2008).<br />
In Estonia, a total of 70,000 children aged 7–18<br />
(approximately 1/3 of all children) are included in the<br />
activities of sports clubs and schools. According to a study<br />
conducted in 2003, 69.4% of boys and 55.6% of girls were<br />
engaged in physiologically sufficient sports training activities<br />
(2–3 hours a week or more). It is worth noting that the<br />
level of activity rose by ten per cent in the case of girls over<br />
the previous decade, while the level of activity among boys<br />
remained the same (Arvisto et al. 2004).<br />
There are considerable differences between the daily<br />
levels of children’s physical activity between countries.<br />
The highest level of activity was characteristic of children<br />
in Slovakia, while children in Switzerland tended to be the<br />
most passive (Figure 2.5.1.). In all of the countries, however,<br />
boys and young children are much more physically<br />
active. According to the survey, 24% of 11-year-old boys<br />
and 21% of 11-year-old girls play sports on a daily basis. By<br />
the age of 15, this percentage drops to 19% among boys and<br />
9% among girls (HBSC 2005/2006). The last ESPAD survey<br />
shows, however, that more than 80% of young people<br />
aged 15–16 engage in sports at least once a week, although<br />
the most common way of spending free time is using the<br />
computer and the Internet (ESPAD, 2008).<br />
Nutrition and obesity<br />
The share of overweight people in the society has increased<br />
gradually since 1998 when 31% of adult (ages 15–64) men<br />
and 24% of women were overweight and 12% of men and<br />
15% of women suffered from obesity. According to a 2006<br />
survey, 36% of men and 25% of women were overweight,<br />
while 15% of men and 16% of women suffered from obesity.<br />
In international comparison, excess weight is a serious<br />
problem for the population of Estonia: in 2002, <strong>Estonian</strong><br />
women were the 5 th most overweight and men the 11 th<br />
most overweight among EU countries, with both groups<br />
well ahead of the EU15 average indicators (Figure 2.5.2.).<br />
Overweight is not yet as significant a problem among<br />
<strong>Estonian</strong> children and young people. In 2006, 15% of 13-<br />
year-old boys and 6% of 13-year-old girls were overweight,<br />
while the corresponding percentages among 15-year-olds<br />
were 10% and 4%, respectively (HBSC 2005/2006).<br />
The nutrition habits of the <strong>Estonian</strong> population have<br />
improved significantly over the past decade. The most<br />
important change has occurred with regard to the consumption<br />
of food fats. While only 28% of all <strong>Estonian</strong> residents<br />
aged 16–64 used vegetable oil as the main cooking<br />
fat at the beginning of the 1990s, by 2006 this percentage<br />
had increased to 92% (Tekkel et al. 2007).<br />
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