Bermuda?s youngest residents are to be targeted for the first time in a health survey launched by the Government on Friday.

The Department of Health?s National Health Survey will aim to find out about children on the Island aged from birth to ten and will also look at adults? health.

Researchers plan to speak to 1,650 adult heads of households about themselves and ask them about the youngest child in the house.

It is estimated that 15 to 20 percent of Bermuda?s homes have a child in that age range.

The telephone survey will take about ten to 20 minutes for each participant and areas covered will include weight, exercise and alcohol intake.

A population health survey on adults in 1999 found that one in three adults did no physical activity, one in three was obese and one in two of those who drank alcohol binged.

One in every four adults exercised at least four times a week, one in two had a healthy body weight and one in three had not drunk alcohol in the previous week.

A health survey in 2001 focused exclusively on middle and secondary school students.

Patrice Minors, Minister of Health and Family Services, urged those contacted for the survey, which will run until mid-March, to take part.

?We need to know where we are today,? she said. ?Are we healthier or not? We are asking Bermuda to tell us.?

She added that the survey was vital to addressing and understanding the health needs of the community and would be used to develop policies and services.