Healthy behaviours and abdominal adiposity in adolescents from southern Italy

作者：Idelson Paola Iaccarino; Scalfi Luca; Vaino Nicola; Mobilia Sara; Montagnese Concetta; Franzese Adriana; Valerio Giuliana^*

来源：Public Health Nutrition, 2014, 17(2): 353-360.

DOI：10.1017/S1368980012005654

• Adiposity
• Adolescence
• Lifestyle
• Nutrition

Objective: The present study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of meeting health recommendations on diet and physical activity (having breakfast, eating fruit and vegetables, consumption of milk/yoghurt, performing moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, limiting television watching) and to assess junk snack food consumption in adolescents from southern Italy. The association between healthy behaviours and abdominal adiposity was also examined.
Design: In a cross-sectional protocol, anthropometric data were measured by trained operators while other data were collected through a structured interview.
Setting: Three high schools in Naples, Italy.
Subjects: A sample of 478 students, aged 14-17 years, was studied.
Results: The proportion of adolescents who met each of the health recommendations varied: 55.4% had breakfast on >= 6 d/week; 2.9% ate >= 5 servings of fruit and vegetables/d; 1.9% had >= 3 servings of milk/yoghurt daily; 13.6% performed moderate-to-vigorous physical activity for >= 60 min/d; and 46.3% watched television for <2 h/d. More than 65% of adolescents consumed >= 1 serving of junk snack foods/d. Only 5% fulfilled at least three recommendations. Healthy habits tended to correlate with each other. As the number of health recommendations met decreased, the percentage of adolescents with high abdominal adiposity (waist-to-height ratio >= 0.5) increased. The trend was not significant when the proportion of overweight/obese adolescents was considered. Logistic regression analysis indicated that male gender and watching television for >= 2 h/d were independently associated with a higher waist-to-height ratio.
Conclusions: Most adolescents failed to meet the five health recommendations considered. Male gender and excessive television watching were associated with abdominal adiposity.

• 出版日期2014-2