Single families & kids

Kids living in single parent families suffer poorest health than their traditional family counterparts.

According to a recent survey by the World Health Organization, children living in single parent families suffer poorest health than their traditional family counterparts.

According to The Telegraph, WHO studied the health and behaviour of children aged between 11-15 years in 32 European countries, as well as Canada, America and Israel.

"There is better health among children who live with both parents and in families where adolescents talk to parents about what bothers them," Dr Candace Currie, of Edinburgh University and international co-ordinator of the study was quoted as saying.

"There is a mass of evidence that children brought up by only one parent are at risk of under-age sex, drug abuse and drinking.There is also a greater risk of mortality. Mothers are often struggling alone and not able to supervise their children so much. That's not to say it's the fault of the lone parent but policy makers should make sure we encourage parents to stay together for the sake of bringing up children," Jill Kirby, the chairman of the family policy group at the Centre for Policy Studies, said.

Overall, the report found that many young people engage in behaviour that can potentially ruin their health - such as smoking and drinking. In all the countries surveyed, girls reported poorer health than boys.

This is attributed to having a poorer body image which leads to unhealthy diets and lack of physical exercise.