Abstract
BackgroundThe potential synergistic effects of multiple dietary and physical activity behaviours on the risk of chronic conditions and health outcomes is a key issue for public health. This study examined the prevalence and clustering patterns of multiple health behaviours among a sample of adolescents in the UK.MethodsCross-sectional survey of 176 adolescents aged 12–16 years (49% boys). Adolescents wore accelerometers for seven days and completed a questionnaire assessing fruit, vegetable, and breakfast consumption. The prevalence of adolescents meeting the physical activity (≥ 60 minutes moderate-to-vigorous physical activity/day), fruit and vegetable (≥ 5 portions of FV per day) and breakfast recommendations (eating breakfast on ≥ 5 days per week), and clustering patterns of these health behaviours are described.ResultsBoys were more active than girls (p < 0.001) and younger adolescents were more active than older adolescents (p < 0.01). Boys ate breakfast on more days per week than girls (p < 0.01) and older adolescents ate more fruit and vegetables than younger adolescents (p < 0.01). Almost 54% of adolescents had multiple risk behaviours and only 6% achieved all three of the recommendations. Girls had significantly more risk factors than boys (p < 0.01). For adolescents with two risk behaviours, the most prevalent cluster was formed by not meeting the physical activity and fruit and vegetable recommendations.ConclusionMany adolescents fail to meet multiple diet and physical activity recommendations, highlighting that physical activity and dietary behaviours do not occur in isolation. Future research should investigate how best to achieve multiple health behaviour change in adolescent boys and girls.
Highlights
Poor diet and physical inactivity are established risk factors for chronic disease
Health risks associated with individual behaviours are broadly acknowledged, yet, arguably a key issue for public health is that there is potential for synergistic effects of multiple health behaviours on the risk of chronic conditions and health outcomes [9,10]
A significantly (p < 0.01) higher proportion of those with usable accelerometer data were girls, compared to boys (63% compared to 47%), and ate breakfast on more days per week (5.3 days compared to 4.5 days)
Summary
Poor diet and physical inactivity are established risk factors for chronic disease. In young people, physical activity and healthy diets including regular breakfast consumption and adequate levels of fruit and vegetables, have important short- and long-term health protective effects. Physical activity in young people may benefit cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors, adiposity and bone health, which could influence health in adulthood [1]. Cross-sectional and longitudinal research has shown that young people who regularly eat breakfast are less likely to be overweight than those who skip breakfast [4,5] Despite such health benefits, young people are more likely to skip breakfast than any other meal [6] and data from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study shows that less than two-fifths of young people eat fruit daily, and only about a third eat vegetables daily [7]. The potential synergistic effects of multiple dietary and physical activity behaviours on the risk of chronic conditions and health outcomes is a key issue for public health.
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