Health related behavior of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) living in Austria

Peer-Reviewed | Manuscript received: October 10, 2017 | Revision accepted: March 23, 2018

Introduction and aims

Adolescence is an important time regarding the development of health-related habits. Thus the WHO describes adolescence as a “window of opportunity” in which the basis for long-term health is laid, and the occurrence of nutrition-related diseases can be prevented. As a consequence, young people (especially those from disadvantaged groups) deserve special attention [1].

Due to high rates of youth unemployment, there has been an increasing focus on young individuals and adults with NEET status (= not in employment, education or training) [2]. The European Commission Employment Committee defines young people and young adults¹ with NEET status as those aged 15 to 24 years, who, according to the labor force concept², are either seeking work or are not in an active employment and are not undergoing any training or education [3]. Older age groups are often also considered as NEETs for comprehensive analyses [2].

¹ Hereinafter referred to as “young people” for short.
² Under the labor force concept, employed persons are persons who, “during the reference week performed work for at least one hour a week in return for payment, profit, or family gain, or who were not at work but had a job or business from which they were temporarily absent because of something like vacations, illness, etc. Unemployed persons are persons who are actively seeking employment and are currently available for work.” [40]

Abstract

Young people with NEET status are often among the most socially disadvantaged and/or least well-educated population groups, and are more likely to be affected by social exclusion and health inequality. Only limited data is available regarding their health behavior. Existing data suggests that the aforementioned factors influence dietary behaviors and physical activity and thus worsen the health status of adolescents. Against this background, data from young people with NEET status living in Austria were compared with the reference group in the WHO Health Behavior in School-aged Children Study (WHO HBSC Study) and Austrian Recommendations for Health-promoting Exercise.

Results show that young people with NEET status have a less favorable dietary behavior than adolescents in the WHO HBSC study. The prevalence of obesity was significantly higher than in the WHO HBSC study. In addition, the use of TV and game consoles was found to be lower in this vulnerable target population. The results highlight the problematic interactions between socio-economic disadvantages and health, which are at work even as early as during adolescence.

Keywords: health behavior, dietary behavior, adolescents, low socio-economic status, health inequality

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