Health and Lifestyle in School-aged Children from Sao Tome and Principe

Behaviors established during the adolescent years can continue into adulthood, affecting issues such as mental health, the development of health complaints, alcohol and tobacco use, physical activity levels and diet. Therefore, the health of children and adolescents is a asset to be protected and nurtured for the benefit of future social and economic development. This is especially true in a country like Sao Tome where around half of the total population (206,883) are under the age of 20.

This Linked Project is a pilot to investigate different aspects of the health and health behaviors of school-aged children living in Sao Tome and Principe, through an international partnership with Margarida Gaspar de Matos and Vítor Rosado Marques of University of Lisbon.

The project will use the HBSC protocol, adapted to suit the context of Sao Tome and Principe. The target population selected for sampling will be young people in 8th and 10th grade attending public school. The results of this pilot study will inform the design of scaled-up project to collect data from a representative sample of young people in the country. A representative sample will allow for analyses of the relationship between lifestyle and health, taking into account the socio-behavioural environment in which these young people live.