Adolescents' Weight Management Goals: Healthy and Unhealthy Associations with Eating Habits and Physical Activity

Abstract

This study aims to quantify associations between one's weight management goal and eating behaviors and physical activity among teenagers. Weighted logistic regressions were performed predicting healthy behaviors from weight goal separately for boys and girls while controlling for age, body mass index, socioeconomic indicators, school type, and region using data from the 2010 to 2011 Enquête québécoise sur la santé des jeunes du secondaire, a survey of a representative sample of Quebec adolescents (N=32,040). About 18%, 31%, 19%, and 34% of boys and 32%, 34%, 5%, and 25% of girls were respectively trying to lose weight, maintain their weight, gain weight, and not trying to do anything about their weight. Trying to lose weight was associated with lower likelihood of eating breakfast daily (boys: odds ratio [OR]=0.72; 95% confidence interval [CI]=0.61, 0.84 girls: OR=0.61; 95% CI=0.54, 0.70). Among girls, trying to lose weight was also associated with higher likelihood of consuming at least 5 portions of fruits and vegetables (OR=1.20; 95% CI=1.04, 1.37), lower likelihood of drinking sugar-sweetened beverages daily (OR=0.77; 95% CI=0.66, 0.90). Each weight-related goal was associated with unhealthy behaviors but most of them were also associated with adoption of healthier ones. Having a weight related goal cannot inherently be thought of as health promoting goal.