Bullying woe for teens

MORE than half of Oldham’s 15-year-olds have experienced bullying in some form, a new survey has revealed.

The What About YOUth? 2014 report, by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC), is the first survey of its kind looking at data on health, diet, physical activity, smoking, drinking, emotional wellbeing, drugs and bullying of teenagers across the country.

In Oldham, 52.7 per cent of those surveyed said they had been bullied in the past couple of months, slightly less that the average across England of 55 per cent.

Over two-thirds of those in Oldham rated their life satisfaction as high or very high, while 13.2 per cent rated it as low, in line with the national averages.

Participants were also asked about their body image perception, with 52.2 per cent in Oldham saying they were “about the right size”. But almost 46 per cent of girls and 20 per cent of boys believed they were too fat.

The survey also looked at alcohol consumption, with those in Oldham mirroring the rest of the country with six per cent saying they drank at least once a week.

Almost five per cent class themselves as a regular smoker in Oldham while one in 10 said they had tried cannabis.

The survey was commissioned by the Department of Health.

The number of people taking part in the survey varied for each question, with the average being around 800.