Fast food consumption declines steadily after campus sales ban in 2007


A majority of teenagers in Korea suffer from chronic sleep deprivation that could lead to drinking, smoking and suicidal tendencies, the state health agency said Monday.

Also, the number of students regularly consuming junk food and soda is on a steady decline but is still substantial, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest assessment of teenagers’ lifestyle.

The annual report claims that 74.8 percent of middle school and 97.7 percent of high school students sleep less than eight hours on a weekday, below international guidelines. The average amount of sleep was 7.1 hours for middle school students and 5.5 hours for high school students.

The U.S. National Sleep Foundation recommends 8.5-9.25 hours of sleep for those between 10 and 17 years old.

A lack of sleep is correlated with other problems. The report shows that students who have less than five hours of sleep a day tend to drink alcohol and smoke, feel suicidal impulses and spend more time on the Internet.

Drinking and smoking rates among high school students marked 20.6 percent and 12.1 percent, respectively. The smoking rate of those students who sleep less than eight hours stood at 60.2 percent, nearly six times higher than the 10.4 percent for those who sleep more than eight hours. Those who lacked sleep also had a three times higher rate of alcohol consumption.

Moreover, students who sleep less tend to feel more stressed. Among middle school students, about 61.8 percent of those who sleep less than five hours felt extremely stressed, in a contrast with 32.4 percent of those who sleep more than eight hours a day. The older the students got, the wider the gap became.

Suicidal impulses were also high among those who were short on sleep. While 22.1 percent of those who slept less than five hours a day felt the urge to kill themselves within the 12 months leading up to the survey, the rate was lower among those who slept sufficiently, at 16.3 percent.

Those who lacked sleep were fond of using the Internet. Those who slept less than five hours a night spend an average of 2-3 hours on the Internet a day, which is longer than 1.8 hours of usage time for those with sufficient sleep.

Meanwhile, the consumption of fast food and soda has steadily declined since the government banned the sales of soda and fattening foods on school campuses in 2007. Just 23.2 percent of students drank soda more than three times a week, down from 52.9 percent in 2005, while 11.6 percent ate junk food more than three times a week in 2011, compared to 30.5 percent in 2005.

By Bae Ji-sook (baejisook@heraldcorp.com)