The EMSE — Argentina's version of the Global School Health Survey, developed by the World Health Organization and implemented by the Ministry of Health in partnership with the Ministry of Education — is the country's most comprehensive source of data on health behaviors among school-aged adolescents aged 13 to 17. Conducted periodically across a nationally representative sample of secondary school students, the survey covers a wide range of risk behaviors, protective factors and health outcomes. Its findings consistently reveal a complex picture: significant proportions of Argentine teenagers engage in behaviors associated with long-term health risks, while other indicators — particularly around nutrition trends — show improvement over time. Understanding these patterns is essential for designing evidence-based public health and educational interventions.
Alcohol and substance use
Alcohol consumption stands out as the most prevalent risk behavior among Argentine adolescents surveyed by the EMSE. Approximately 47.8% of students reported consuming alcohol in the 30 days prior to the survey — a figure that places Argentina among the higher consumers in the Latin American regional comparison. More concerning is the binge drinking indicator: 31.2% reported consuming five or more drinks on a single occasion within the same period, a pattern associated with acute alcohol poisoning, accidents and longer-term alcohol use disorders. Regarding tobacco, 14.6% reported regular cigarette smoking — a figure that has declined gradually over successive survey waves, consistent with the trend in most developed countries, though the rate remains notable in a population where most begin smoking before age 14. Electronic cigarettes represented a new challenge: 22.3% of respondents reported using e-cigarettes or vaping devices, a sharp increase compared to earlier surveys that points to the rapid penetration of these products among Argentine youth.
Physical activity and sedentary behavior
Physical inactivity is a growing concern in the survey data. Only 24.1% of respondents met the WHO guideline of at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per day — meaning that roughly three in four Argentine teenagers fall below the internationally recommended minimum. Screen time was not directly measured in earlier survey waves, but sedentary leisure patterns correlate with the low physical activity figures. School physical education classes reach most students, but typically provide only one or two sessions per week — far below what would be needed to compensate for sedentary behavior outside school hours. This has direct implications for cardiovascular health, obesity rates and mental wellbeing during adolescence and into adulthood.
Mental health: an emerging priority
Perhaps the most striking findings in recent EMSE data relate to mental health. 38.6% of students reported feeling lonely most of the time — a figure that, while impossible to compare directly across time without controlling for survey methodology, is substantially higher than what health professionals would consider a low-concern baseline. 19.7% of respondents reported having seriously considered suicide in the past 12 months, a statistic that demands urgent attention from both the health system and educational institutions. Bullying remains widespread: 30.2% reported being victims of physical aggression by peers in the previous 30 days. These findings collectively suggest that mental health and social wellbeing belong at the center of any school health strategy — at least as prominently as the traditional focus on substance use prevention. Our dashboard on school health provides the full EMSE dataset disaggregated by province, age group and gender.
Regional variation and positive trends
The EMSE data is not uniform across Argentina's territory. Significant regional variation exists: Patagonian provinces (Neuquén, Río Negro, Santa Cruz, Tierra del Fuego) showed higher rates of alcohol consumption and tobacco use compared to the northeastern provinces (Misiones, Chaco, Corrientes, Formosa), which in turn showed different risk profiles around physical activity and nutrition. Among the positive findings, fruit and vegetable consumption improved compared to previous survey waves — a trend consistent with broader dietary evolution and public health campaigns targeting school canteens and nutrition education. The educational dimension of adolescent health behaviors connects directly to learning outcomes, as explored in our dashboard on Aprender tests, which tracks academic performance indicators across the same age groups and geographic regions.
