YOUTH 2020 - The position of young people in Slovenia

240 6.1  KEY FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Based on what has been written, the following should be highlighted: 1. The proportion of young people who are predominantly or very satisfied with their health has fallen from around 80% to around 70% in the last decade, and young people’s overall satisfaction with life has also declined significantly. This decline in satisfac- tion occurred despite the simultaneous improvement of some as- pects of young people’s health and living standards; 2. Young people that engage in sports, often eat fresh fruit and veg- etables, do not smoke tobacco or marijuana, do not use “hard drugs”, and that have a “normal” body mass index mass are more satisfied with their health; 3. Among young people aged between 25 and 29, there are almost a tenth in Slovenia (and the EU) who have health-threatening body mass index (BMI). Compared to 2010, the share of young people with a BMI index greater than 30 in this group increased by 50%, and at the level of the entire population by about 35%. There are also more malnourished young people (+46%), with young wom- en leading the way. Thus, there are fewer and fewer young people with “normal weight”, and important to note that this situation deteriorates with age. 4. In a longitudinal perspective, young people in 2020 appear to be living a healthier life on average than in 2010 – there is a decline in drinking alcohol and smoking tobacco, while eating healthier and playing sports increased. The fact that young people are still less satisfied with their health in 2020 than they were in 2010 shows that other factors, such as feelings of parental love, stress, or lone- liness, also have a significant impact on young people’s health; 5. The share of young people who feel loneliness as a problem has increased by 76% in ten years, and the share of young people who feel stress a few or most days a week by 110%. This, together with the deterioration in weight, indicates a general deterioration in