The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC) study is a collaborative cross-national survey. It has provided information about the health, wellbeing, social environment, and health behaviours of 11, 13, and 15-year-old boys and girls for over 30 years.
The survey report presents data from over 220,000 young people in 45 countries and regions in Europe and Canada. It focuses on social context (family, peers, school, online communication), health outcomes (subjective health, mental health, overweight/obesity, injuries), health behaviours (eating patterns, physical activity, toothbrushing), and risk behaviours (tobacco, alcohol, cannabis use, sexual behaviours, fighting, bullying) relevant to young people’s health and wellbeing.
New items on electronic media communication, cyberbullying, and family meals were introduced in 2017/2018. Measures of individual health complaints and underweight are also included for the first time in the international report.
