Do not eat so many sweets! Do more exercise! And do not drink so much at parties! Who has not heard well-meaning suggestions and admonitions like these? And yet, young people generally know fairly accurately what is good for their well-being and health, and often stick to this (or at least try to): many young people take regular exercise and generally eat healthily. They do not smoke and rarely drink alcohol. The actions of parents or caregivers as role models have a significant impact on young people in this area.

Staying healthy and feeling well in everyday life is an important goal for the majority of young people. However, there are once again significant differences here. Girls are more likely to try and eat healthily. Boys, on the other hand, are more likely to do exercise to keep fit and feel physically well. The amount of money that young people have available also plays a role: the better off a young person is, the more likely they are to do some kind of sport and eat healthily. Age similarly has an impact. Younger adolescents do more for their physical fitness than older ones, and also eat more healthily.

Why are these findings important? Luxembourg has a lot of information campaigns and advisory services for young people. The better those responsible know how young people take care of their well-being and health, where they perhaps take things too far, and how they tackle their problems, the more effectively these services can be designed and made useful. This enables as many young people as possible to actively look after their well-being and health. Because they want to do so!