Why young people are feeling less healthy—and what to do about it

Statistics NZ reported last week that fewer New Zealanders are rating their general health as “excellent”, with the biggest drop among people aged 15-44.

Back in 2010, 1 in 3 people in this age range considered themselves to be in excellent health compared with just 1 in 5 as of last year, the General Social Survey found.

Kaylene Henderson, a Primary Health Care Nurse at Wintec Health Services, says that to identify why fewer young people are feeling they are in optimal health, “we need to … look at what’s happening in the world for them”.

She identifies external pressures from family, friends, work, and study, as potential causes of life stressors which can contribute to ill health. This includes pressure to achieve academically, to look beautiful or successful on social media, or to partake in drugs and alcohol.

“There are all these people that are coming in at them and putting them in a situation where they need to conform.”

Sport Waikato’s Active & Well Team Leader, Hayley Berkers, says the current state of the world in general could also play a part.

“When you’re looking at climate change and everything, I think people can be feeling pretty negative about a lot of stuff at the moment, and that could definitely bring that rating down a bit.”

While mental health is a growing issue among young people—Berkers says depression and anxiety is the number one complaint among the young adults she works with—Henderson is also seeing an increase in physical issues.

Her colleague Jo Brown, another Primary Health Care Nurse, notes that in the nine years she’s worked at the Wintec Health Service, she has seen a big uptick in Type 2 Diabetes, which is in line with worldwide trends.

“A lot of [our patients] have never left home before, they are having to be financially independent, they don’t eat as well as they used to … they’re eating processed food that they didn’t do when they were at home.”

Berkers points out that shift work or long working hours—a reality for students who are juggling both work and study—means people turn to increasingly-accessible fast food when they don’t have time to cook.

And on the flip side, those working hours can also be a barrier to accessing suitable exercise options like pools or classes.

So, what can students and young people in these situations do to reach “excellent” health?

Henderson’s best health advice is to get proactive, rather than reactive care.

“When I first started here people would come in and say, ‘Just give me a pill, I just want to have a tablet to fix it.’”

It’s a mindset which Wintec Health Services is now helping to change by offering the ongoing support that patients need for long-term, positive outcomes.

“Patients come in and choose a goal that they want to work on,” explains Brown.

“It’s a goal that comes from them personally, it’s not that we’re sitting there telling them that they should or shouldn’t be doing this.”

Some examples of patient-driven goals have been to look good in Facebook photos, or to be in top physical condition to be able to have a baby.

As well as personal goal-setting, Berkers says that looking out for number one is a crucial tip for those who want to get—and stay—healthy.

“A lot of people I know can feel bad if they are putting their own health and own needs ahead of everyone else.”

She wants to help people need to get out of that mindset, so they can prioritise their own healthcare without feeling guilty.

“If they’re not looking after themselves, [they can’t do as] much good for anyone else.”