At least 6.6 million rural children aged below 12 have tooth decay and most do not receive dental treatment, while 100,000 Bangkok youngsters aged between six and 14 consume fast food on a daily basis, a Mahidol University survey has found.

Acting Permanent Secretary at the Education Ministry Jaruayporn Thoranin yesterday said the 2006 survey by Mahidol Institute for Population and Social Research had exposed the health-risk situation Thai students were facing.

The survey found that only 30 per cent of children and youths felt their parents had given them enough love and warmth and nearly 600,000 youths had mental problems and needed assistance, said Jaruayporn.

Children were found to spend four to six hours a day watching television that gave them no content to stimulate learning.

Each year about 300,000 women had unwanted pregnancies and about 2.9 million people had families that started off on shaky ground as they weren't ready for married life, the survey found.

About 1.8 million Thais - or 4.1 per cent of the population - were borderline alcoholics, the survey found, and at least 40 people were killed every day in road accidents.

In 2004, only a third of Thais exercised at least three times a week, but nowadays more and more people had access to healthcare services.

Jaruayporn said the ministry has assigned a team of experts and officials - whose first meeting will be on December 20 - to formulate a strategy and a database on students' health problems with the support of the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Jaruayporn announced the findings on Tuesday to a "Health Promotion in School" workshop held by the WHO Regional Office for Southeast Asia, which runs until today.