Trajectories of Eating Behaviour Changes during Adolescence.

Radhouene Doggui,Mathieu Bélanger,Stéphanie Ward,Claire Johnson

doi:10.3390/nu13041313

Radhouene Doggui, Mathieu Bélanger + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13041313

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Abstract

Adolescence represents a critical transition phase during which individuals acquire eating behaviours that can track into adulthood. This study aims to characterise trends in eating behaviours throughout adolescence by investigating the presence of sub-groups of individuals presenting distinct trajectories of vegetable and fruit, sugary beverage, breakfast and fast-food consumption. Data from 744 MATCH study Canadian participants followed from 11 to 18 Years old (2013–2019) were included in the analyses. Participants reported how often they ate breakfast and consumed vegetables and fruits, sugary beverages and fast foods. Trajectories of eating behaviours over seven years were identified using group-based multi-trajectory modelling. For girls, three different groups were identified, namely ‘stable food intake with a decline in daily breakfast consumption’ (39.9%), ‘moderate food intake and worsening in overall eating behaviours’ (38.0%) and ‘stable high food intake’ (22.1%). For boys, five different groups were identified, namely ‘low food intake with stable daily breakfast consumption’ (27.3%), ‘breakfast-skippers and increasing fast food intake’ (27.1%), ‘low food intake with a decline in daily breakfast consumption’ (23.9%), ‘high food intake with worsening of eating behaviours’ (13.3%) and ‘average food intake with consistently high breakfast consumption’ (8.4%). Eating behaviours evolve through various distinct trajectories and sub-group-specific strategies may be required to promote healthy eating behaviours among adolescents.

Highlights

The transition from late childhood to adolescence is marked by significant eating behaviour changes [1]
This study aimed to investigate the presence of naturally occurring sub-groups of girls and boys following distinct trajectories of multiple eating behaviours
The median (Table 1) frequency of vegetable and fruit intake, sugary beverage intake and daily breakfast consumption were characterised by a marked linear decline throughout adolescence

Summary

Introduction

The transition from late childhood to adolescence is marked by significant eating behaviour changes [1]. Population-based studies have found that some eating behaviours, such as vegetable and fruit consumption, skipping breakfast [2], consuming sugary beverages [3] and eating fast foods [4], worsen as children enter adolescence. A multi-national study conducted in the Eastern Mediterranean region showed a negative trend between age and the prevalence of eating vegetables and fruits ≥5 times per day among adolescents [5]. A longitudinal study in the United States found that fast food consumption increased from 2 times per week to 3 times per week between the ages of 11 and 18 [4]. National data in the United States have shown that the prevalence of heavy sugary beverages consumption increased with age, where 5% of

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