School Health Promotion study 2025: Children and young people need adults’ support for healthy lifestyles – an increasing number can talk about their personal matters with their parents
According to recent results of the School Health Promotion study 2025, most children and young people can discuss their personal matters with their parents often or fairly often. Support from adults is needed for health-promoting lifestyles as only a small proportion of children and young people both have breakfast and exercise and sleep enough. Alcohol consumption and smoking have continued to decrease, but there has been a significant increase in the use of nicotine pouches.
Talking to adults is easier than before
Approximately 80 per cent of students in grades 4 and 5 and about 70 per cent of students in grades 8 and 9 of basic education feel that they can discuss their personal matters with their parents often or fairly often. Eighth- and ninth-graders’ experience of this has increased significantly since the turn of the millennium, when about 40 per cent felt that they could discuss their personal matters with their parents often or fairly often. As for primary school students, the data has been collected only since 2017.
“The long time series of the School Health Promotion study show a positive change in the discussion culture of adults and schoolchildren. Young people talk about their personal matters with their parents more often than before. In addition, 61 per cent of students in grades 8 and 9 felt that teachers were interested in how students were doing, while about 30 per cent of students felt the same at the beginning of the 2000s,” says Jenni Helenius, the researcher responsible for the School Health Promotion study.
In 2025, the majority of students in grades 8 and 9 discussed their school day with their parents at least sometimes. About six per cent never talked to their parents about their school day. In addition, 73 per cent of students in grades 8 and 9 felt that teachers encouraged students to express their opinion during the lesson.
Only a small proportion of young people sleep and exercise enough and eat breakfast every weekday morning
The School Health Promotion study has examined lifestyles based on whether children and young people are physically active for at least one hour a day, sleep eight hours a night on weekdays and have breakfast every weekday morning.
According to the spring 2025 survey, about one half of students in grades 8 and 9 ate breakfast on weekday mornings, and slightly more than one in four reported that they had exercised at least one hour a day in the past week when all physical activity was included.
Approximately two thirds sleep at least eight hours a night on weekdays. However, all the above-mentioned lifestyles were realised for only 17 per cent of boys and nine per cent of girls.
Thirty-four per cent of boys and 27 per cent of girls in grades 4 and 5 of basic education had breakfast, were physically active for an hour a day and felt that they slept enough. Because the questions about sleeping were posed in a different way to primary school students, the proportions are not directly comparable to the results of young people.
“Children and young people need support from adults for following a healthy lifestyle and a regular daily rhythm. Sufficient sleep, physical activity and nutrition are the basic pillars of well-being. Their significance for mental well-being cannot be emphasised too much”, says Chief Physician Terhi Aalto-Setälä.
Alcohol use and smoking decreased, but the use of nicotine pouches increased
An increasing proportion of young people do not use alcohol, tobacco or snus. According to the School Health Promotion study, nearly three quarters of students in grades 8 and 9 and less than one half of students in the 1st and 2nd year of general upper secondary school and vocational institutions reported that they do not use alcohol at all.
The proportion of young people using electronic cigarettes on a daily basis varied between 1 per cent and 9 per cent in different age groups. According to the survey, the use of e-cigarettes was more common among young girls than boys. The proportion of young people using e-cigarettes (vapes) daily has remained almost unchanged compared to 2023. The growth continued only with girls studying in vocational institution.
Six per cent of boys and three per cent of girls in grades 4 and 5 of basic education had used electronic cigarettes at least once.
The use of nicotine pouches has increased significantly among both boys and girls compared to 2023. Nine per cent of boys and 4–5 per cent of girls in grades 8 and 9 of basic education and in the 1st and 2nd year of general upper secondary schools reported that they had used nicotine pouches daily.
The daily use of nicotine pouches was most common among 1st and 2nd-year students of vocational institutions (boys 24%, girls 15%). Few students in grades 4 and 5 of basic education had tried nicotine pouches (boys 2%, girls 1%).
“The increase in the daily use of nicotine pouches among young people is alarming. The age limit for selling tobacco and nicotine products should be increased to 20 as a matter of urgency,” says Senior Specialist Hanna Ollila.
"Nicotine products are always harmful to young people. The Tobacco Act still enables the sale of nicotine pouches containing a significant amount of nicotine and attractive flavours. However, from the beginning of August, schools and educational institutions will have better opportunities to intervene in the use of nicotine pouches and electronic cigarettes, as the possession of tobacco substitutes is also prohibited for people under the age of 18,” Ollila continues.
The proportion of students who have experienced bullying has not decreased
In the School Health Promotion study, respondents were asked how often they had experienced bullying by other students during the spring term.
About one in three students in grades 4 and 5 and one in four students in grades 8 and 9 of basic education had experienced bullying. Almost one in ten had experienced weekly bullying at school.
Approximately one in four primary and lower secondary school students who had experienced bullying during the spring semester said someone working in the school knew about it.
A decline in sexual harassment experienced by girls
According to the School Health Promotion study, sexual harassment experienced by girls has decreased. Approximately one in three girls in grades 8 and 9 and girls in general upper secondary school or vocational institution had experienced sexual harassment in the past 12 months. This is clearly less than in 2021 and 2023, when about one half of girls had experienced it.
Different experiences of physical threats in the past year were also asked about in the School Health Promotion study. A physical threat means, for example, hitting, kicking or threatening with violence. It was not asked where or in which situation the threat had been experienced.
Boys had experienced physical threats more often than girls. Over the past year, 18 per cent of boys in grades 4 and 5 and grades 8 and 9, 12 per cent of boys in general upper secondary schools and 14 per cent of boys in vocational institutions had experienced a physical threat. Approximately one out of ten girls had experienced the same.
270,000 students responded to the School Health Promotion study in 2025
In spring 2025, a total of 270,000 student in grades 4 and 5 and grades 8 and 9 of basic education and in the 1st and 2nd year of general upper secondary schools and vocational institutions responded to the School Health Promotion study.
The results service of the School Health Promotion study includes the results of the entire country and the results of the wellbeing services counties and municipalities. The results will be discussed at the Hyvinvointiareena training event organised on 22 and 23 September 2025.
The results for each educational institution will also be completed in September and delivered to the educational institutions.
Sources:
Results of the School Health Promotion study (in Finnish and Swedish)
Results of the School Health Promotion study for the whole country, wellbeing services counties and municipalities in THL’s results service
Further information:
Jenni Helenius
Researcher responsible for the School Health Promotion study, Development Manager
THL
tel. +358 029 524 8406
[email protected]
Terhi Aalto-Setälä (lifestyles and mental well-being)
Chief Physician
THL
tel. +358 29 524 7437
[email protected]
Hanna Ollila (nicotine products)
Senior Specialist
THL
tel. +358 29 524 8617
[email protected]
Kirsimarja Raitasalo (alcohol use)
THL
Senior Researcher
tel. +358 29 524 7005
[email protected]
General questions related to the School Health Promotion study:
tel. +358 29 524 6082
kouluterveyskysely(at)thl.fi
Previous information on the topic
Edit 22.9.2025: Added link to the English version of research in brief "Use and acquisition of tobacco and nicotine products among youth between 2017 and 2025".
