scholarly journals Changes in Sedentary and Active Lifestyle, Diet Quality and Body Composition Nine Months after an Education Program in Polish Students Aged 11–12 Years: Report from the ABC of Healthy Eating Study

Nutrients ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 331 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lidia Wadolowska ◽  
Jadwiga Hamulka ◽  
Joanna Kowalkowska ◽  
Natalia Ulewicz ◽  
Monika Hoffmann ◽  
...  

The sustainability of education focused on improving the dietary and lifestyle behaviours of teenagers has not been extensively studied. The aim of this study was to determine the sustainability of diet-related and lifestyle-related school-based education on sedentary and active lifestyle, diet quality and body composition of Polish pre-teenagers in a medium-term follow-up study. An education-based intervention study was carried out on 464 students aged 11–12 years (educated/control group: 319/145). Anthropometric measurements were taken and body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-height ratios (WHtR) were calculated, both at the baseline and after nine months. Dietary data from a short-form food frequency questionnaire (SF-FFQ4PolishChildren) were collected. Two measures of lifestyle (screen time, physical activity) and two diet quality scores (pro-healthy, pHDI, and non-healthy, nHDI) were established. After nine months, in the educated group (vs. control) a significantly higher increase was found in nutrition knowledge score (mean difference of the change: 1.8 points) with a significantly higher decrease in physical activity (mean difference of the change: −0.20 points), nHDI (−2.3% points), the z-WHtR (−0.18 SD), and the z-waist circumference (−0.13 SD). Logistic regression modelling with an adjustment for confounders revealed that after nine months in the educated group (referent: control), the chance of adherence to a nutrition knowledge score of at least the median was over 2 times higher, and that of the nHDI category of at least the median was significantly lower (by 35%). In conclusion, diet-related and lifestyle-related school-based education from an almost one-year perspective can reduce central adiposity in pre-teenagers, despite a decrease in physical activity and the tendency to increase screen time. Central adiposity reduction can be attributed to the improvement of nutrition knowledge in pre-teenagers subjected to the provided education and to stopping the increase in unhealthy dietary habits.

Nutrients ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 1563 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lidia Wadolowska ◽  
Jadwiga Hamulka ◽  
Joanna Kowalkowska ◽  
Natalia Ulewicz ◽  
Magdalena Gornicka ◽  
...  

Little is known on skipping breakfast and a meal at school, especially considered together. The study identified nutrition knowledge-related, lifestyle (including diet quality, physical activity, and screen time) and socioeconomic correlates of skipping breakfast and a meal at school, considered together or alone and assessed the association of skipping these meals with adiposity markers in Polish teenagers. The sample consisted of 1566 fourth and fifth grade elementary school students (11–13 years). The study was designed as a cross-sectional study. Data related to the consumption of selected food items and meals, physical activity, screen time, sociodemographic factors, and nutrition knowledge (all self-reported) were collected (in 2015–2016) with a short form of a food frequency questionnaire. Respondents reported the usual consumption of breakfast (number of days/week) and a meal or any food eaten at school (number of school days/week) labelled as ‘a meal at school’. The measurements of body weight, height, and waist circumference were taken. BMI-for-age ≥25 kg/m2 was considered as a marker of overweight/obesity (general adiposity), while waist-to-height ratio ≥0.5 as a marker of central obesity (central adiposity). A multivariate logistic regression was applied to verify the association between variables. A total of 17.4% of teenagers frequently skipped breakfast (4–7 days/week), 12.9% frequently skipped a meal at school (3–5 school days/week), while 43.6% skipped both of these meals a few times a week. Predictors of skipping breakfast and/or a meal at school were female gender, age over 12 years, urban residence, lower family affluence, lower nutrition knowledge, higher screen time, and lower physical activity. In comparison to “never-skippers,” “frequent breakfast skippers” were more likely to be overweight/obese (odds ratio, OR 1.89; 95% confidence interval, 95%CI 1.38, 2.58) and centrally obese (OR 1.63; 95%CI 1.09, 2.44), while skippers a few times a week of both of these meals were more likely to be overweight/obese (OR 1.37; 95%CI 1.06, 1.78). Concluding, we estimated that a large percentage of Polish teenagers (approx. 44%) usually skipped both breakfast and a meal at school a few times a week. Similar predictors of skipping breakfast and predictors of skipping a meal at school were identified. Special attention should be paid to promoting shortening screen time and increasing physical activity and teenagers’ nutrition knowledge which are relatively easily modifiable correlates. The study shows that skipping both of these meals a few times a week was associated with general adiposity and also strengthens previous evidence showing the association of frequent skipping breakfast with general and central adiposity.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janne H. Maier ◽  
Ronald Barry

Background. Obesity in youth is highly prevalent. Physical activity and diet are influential in obesity development. However, there is a knowledge gap regarding links between activity and diet quality and their combined influence on obesity during adolescence.Objectives. We used five years of data from 2379 adolescent girls in the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute Growth and Health Study to evaluate the association between physical activity and diet quality during adolescence and to assess both as correlates of obesity.Design. Diet, activity, and body composition measures were evaluated pairwise for correlation. A canonical correlation analysis was used to evaluate relationships within and between variable groups. All statistics were examined for trends over time.Results. We found positive correlations between physical activity and diet quality that became stronger with age. Additionally we discovered an age-related decrease in association between obesity correlates and body composition.Conclusion. These results suggest that while health behaviors, like diet and activity, become more closely linked during growth, obesity becomes less influenced by health behaviors and other factors. This should motivate focus on juvenile obesity prevention capitalizing on the pliable framework for establishing healthy diet and physical activity patterns while impact on body composition is greatest.


Circulation ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 130 (suppl_2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia E Longmuir ◽  
Mary Corey ◽  
Guy Faulkner ◽  
Jennifer L Russell ◽  
Brian W McCrindle

Introduction: This cross-sectional study evaluated the healthy, active lifestyle capacity (daily physical activity, strength, flexibility, body composition) of children after Fontan, which was hypothesized to be lower than healthy peers. Methods: Participants (n=64, 25 female) were 9 ± 2 years of age. Fontan completion occurred at 3 ± 1 years of age. Canadian Health Measures Survey protocols assessed aerobic endurance (walking up/down steps at set pace), strength (handgrip dynamometry), flexibility (sit and reach), body composition (body mass index) and daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (7-day accelerometry). Participant versus published norm differences were evaluated with t-tests. Linear regression evaluated associations with age/gender/demographic factors. Results: Children after Fontan had strength scores similar (mean difference 1 kg) to their peers, were less likely to be obese (mean difference of body mass index = 1.1 ± 2.5, p=.001) and performed 50 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity per day. Estimated maximal aerobic endurance (mean difference = 21 ± 3 ml/kg/min or 61% of expected) and flexibility (mean difference = 9 ± 8 cm or 64% of expected) were lower than peers(p<.001). Participants performed fewer minutes of daily activity (mean difference from normal 12 ± 17 minutes/day, p<.001), but almost all (60/63) demonstrated the capacity for at least 20 minutes per day. Daily activity was higher with Fontan completion at a younger age (4 ± 2 mins/year) and for those taking antithrombotic medication (7 ± 18 and 22 ± 17 fewer minutes/day for those taking/not taking antithrombotics, respectively). Conclusions: Children after Fontan demonstrate the capacity to successfully perform the daily physical activity associated with optimal health. They have similar levels of strength and good body composition. We recommend that children after Fontan be counselled to expect that they can successfully participate in physically active peer play.


Nutrients ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 1439 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jadwiga Hamulka ◽  
Lidia Wadolowska ◽  
Monika Hoffmann ◽  
Joanna Kowalkowska ◽  
Krystyna Gutkowska

To increase teenagers’ nutrition knowledge is an important target and has the potential to improve their dietary habits and lifestyle while reducing incidences of obesity-related non-communicable diseases throughout the whole lifespan. This study protocol presents the general approach and details of an assessment of nutritional knowledge, attitudes toward nutrition, diet quality, lifestyle and body composition that have been used to comprehensively evaluate the cross-behavioral patterns covering dietary and lifestyle behaviors in Polish teenagers. The study was designed in two paths as: a cross-sectional study (covering 1569 students) and an education-based intervention study (464 students) with a 9-month follow-up. We describe a short form of the food frequency questionnaire (SF-FFQ4PolishChildren) used to collect data and details of diet-related and lifestyle-related education program, which was developed and implemented by academic researchers involved in the study. We also describe details of the data development and statistical analysis, including multidimensional methods of clustering variables to identify cross-behavioral patterns covering diet and lifestyle. The results of the study will provide evidence-based support for preventive health care to promote normal growth and development of young population and reduce the risk of diet-related diseases in adulthood, by early shaping of adequate dietary and lifestyle behaviors. In the future, well-tailored education programs addressed to teenagers can be created as an important public health action, based on our results.


Obesity ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (12) ◽  
pp. 2431-2440
Author(s):  
Furong Xu ◽  
Geoffrey W. Greene ◽  
Jacob E. Earp ◽  
Alessandra Adami ◽  
Matthew J. Delmonico ◽  
...  

2013 ◽  
Vol 17 (12) ◽  
pp. 2692-2699 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gamze Akbulut ◽  
Mine Yildirim ◽  
Nevin Sanlier ◽  
Maartje M van Stralen ◽  
Nilufer Acar-Tek ◽  
...  

AbstractObjectiveTo explore the influences of migration to a Western country on obesity and related risk factors by comparing measures of body composition and energy balance-related behaviours between Turkish adolescents in Turkey (TR-TR) and adolescents from Turkish immigrant ethnicity in the Netherlands (TR-NL).DesignCross-sectional survey or baseline intervention data from six Dutch school-based studies and one Turkish study.SettingPrimary and secondary schools.SubjectsA total of 915 (49 % girls; mean age 13·1 (sd 0·8) years) TR-TR adolescents and 433 (51 % girls; mean age 11·7 (sd 1·3) years) TR-NL adolescents were included. Outcome measures were self-reported sugar-containing beverage consumption, fruit and vegetable intake, screen time, physical activity, measured body height and weight, BMI, waist and hip circumferences, and skinfold thicknesses.ResultsOur data showed that more TR-NL adolescents were overweight (31 % v. 26 %) and obese (9 % v. 6 %) and had significantly higher mean BMI (21·1 v. 20·0 kg/m2), waist circumference (72·2 v. 71·3 cm) and suprailiac skinfold thickness (19·8 v. 13·1 mm) than TR-TR adolescents. TR-NL adolescents reported significantly higher sugar-containing beverage consumption (1173 v. 115 ml/d), less fruit and vegetable intake (295 v. 647 g/d), less screen time (253 v. 467 min/d) and higher physical activity levels (61 v. 27 min/d) than TR-TR adolescents.ConclusionsImmigrant adolescents in the Netherlands were more often overweight and had a less favourable dietary pattern than their peers in Turkey, while their physical activity and screen time patterns were more favourable. These results suggest that adolescents from Turkish immigrant ethnicity in the Netherlands have adopted lifestyles towards the host culture.


2017 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 485-497 ◽  
Author(s):  
An De Meester ◽  
Greet Cardon ◽  
Ilse De Bourdeaudhuij ◽  
Leen Haerens

Purpose:The goals were to investigate whether extracurricular school-based sports reach students not engaging in community sports and whether extracurricular school-based sports participants are more physically active and/or autonomously motivated toward sports than nonparticipants.Method:1526 students (48.0% boys; 85.9% Belgian natives; age = 15.34 ± 1.83y) completed validated questionnaires to assess sports participation, physical activity (PA) and sports-motivation. Multilevel regression analyses were conducted.Results:Only 28.7% of all students (n = 438), and 19.7% of students not engaging in community sports (n = 123), participated in extracurricular school-based sports. Participants were significantly more physically active [β=44.19, S.E.=17.34, χ2(1)=6.50, p = .01] and autonomously motivated [β=.18, S.E.=.04, χ2(1)=25.62, p < .001] than nonparticipants, even after controlling for community sports participation. Boys were more physically active and autonomously motivated than girls (p < .001).Conclusion:As participation is linked to higher PA-levels and autonomous motivation, increasing overall participation rates may contribute to children developing a more physically active lifestyle and achieving the PA guidelines.


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