Status: 06.12.2022 2:45 p.m
According to an AOK study, families in Germany are in poorer health than four years ago. Many suffer from financial and psychological stress, and quite a few consider sustainably produced food to be unhealthy.
According to a study, families in Germany are worse off today than they were four years ago. This is the result of the AOK family study 2022. “Only 64 percent of the parents surveyed rate their state of health as “good” and “very good”,” says the representative expert report. For comparison: in 2018 it was still 76 percent. In addition, more than a third of those surveyed stated that they suffered from financial (40 percent) and psychological stress (34 percent). Four years ago it was 27 percent in both categories.
According to the study, the worries of the mothers and fathers are transferred to the offspring: “Almost a third of the children are impaired in their mental well-being,” it says there. In addition, more children complain of problems falling asleep and headaches and stomach aches.
Fewer families with fixed rules and structures
So-called protective factors such as fixed rules and structures have decreased in the families, says Ulrike Ravens-Sieberer, research director of the University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf. While in 2018 88 percent of families still had daily rituals such as having dinner together, in 2022 it was only 80 percent. Four years ago, 91 percent of parents were able to spend at least daily time with their child with full attention, this year only 81 percent.
According to the AOK, many families also lack knowledge about healthy and climate-friendly nutrition. “43 percent of parents have inadequate or problematic nutritional skills,” it says. As a result, there are more overweight children. “38 percent of those surveyed even believe that a climate and environmentally friendly diet is not healthy.” Comparative figures from previous years were not available in this regard.