Overweight Adolescents' Self-Perceived Weight and Weight Control Behaviour: HBSC Study in Finland 1994–2010

Introduction. Overweight and perception of being overweight, may lead adolescent to lose weight. The aim of the present study was to investigate overweight adolescents' self-perceived weight, body dissatisfaction, and weight control behaviour during 1994–2010 in Finland. Methods. The country-representative, cross-sectional data of 15-year olds were obtained from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study, conducted in 1994 (N = 1194; males: 48%), 1998 (N = 1545; 49%), 2002 (N = 1745; 50%), 2006 (N = 1670; 47%), and 2010 (N = 2082; 48%). Results. The majority of overweight boys (62–69%) and girls (89–100%) assessed themselves as too fat, and their body image was lower than in nonoverweight adolescents. The highest prevalence of current weight controlling was found in 2006 in males (18%) and in 2010 in females (39%). Conclusion. The phenomena were current and gender differences notable, but there was no statistically significant difference in overweight adolescents' self-perceived weight, body dissatisfaction, or weight control behaviour between survey years

Clustering of energy balance-related behaviours, sleep, and overweight among Finnish adolescents

To examine how clusters of energy balance-related behaviours (EBRBs), including sleep related factors, were associated with overweight among adolescents. In Finland, 4262 adolescents, aged 13-15, participated in the cross-national Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study. The adolescents completed questionnaires assessing EBRBs [sleep duration, discrepancy and quality, physical activity (PA), screen time, junk food, fruit, and vegetable intake] and height and weight. Clusters were identified with kappa-means cluster analysis and their associations with overweight with logistic regression analyses. Common clusters for boys and girls were labelled "Healthy lifestyle" and "High screen time, unhealthy lifestyle". In addition, the cluster "Low/moderate screen time, unhealthy lifestyle" was identified among boys, and the cluster "Poor sleep, unhealthy lifestyle" among girls. Only girls in the cluster "High screen time, unhealthy lifestyle" were at increased risk for overweight. Girls, whose EBRB was characterized by high screen time and low PA, but not with poor sleep, were at increased risk for overweight. Future studies should examine ways to promote PA among adolescent girls with high interest in screen-based activities.Peer reviewe

Young People in the Social World of Physical Activities: Meanings and Barriers

Physical inactivity has become one of the leading risk factors for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and death worldwide. From the future perspective it is alarming that in the group of young people few meet the recommendations. In this respect, physical activity promotion in general and physical education have challenges and new approaches are needed. In this study, the theoretical framework is based on the physical activity relationship (PAR) approach and the barriers were grouped according to the ecological model. The aim of the study was firstly to present both the meanings and barriers of physical activity in a comprehensive Finnish population of 11-15 year old (n = 2728) and secondly to examine how the number of important meanings and mentioned barriers associate with each other with physical activity levels. Data were collected using a questionnaire. To examine how the meanings and barriers associate with each other and with the PA level, chi-squared test (χ2), Pearson correlation and General linear model (ANCOVA) were used. Logistic regression was applied to estimate effect sizes by odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals. According to the results, the associations between physical activity with the meanings and barriers were reverse and linear. The more important the meanings were found to be, the more likely the study participants were physically active, whereas the more barriers participants reported, the less active they were. The approach which utilizes meanings and barriers has a lot of untapped potential for the promotion of physical activity and physical education. With the right actions, some barriers could be removed or dampened, and by opening up and deepening meanings, PAR could be strengthened.</p

Test-retest reliability of selected items of Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey questionnaire in Beijing, China

Abstract Background Children's health and health behaviour are essential for their development and it is important to obtain abundant and accurate information to understand young people's health and health behaviour. The Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study is among the first large-scale international surveys on adolescent health through self-report questionnaires. So far, more than 40 countries in Europe and North America have been involved in the HBSC study. The purpose of this study is to assess the test-retest reliability of selected items in the Chinese version of the HBSC survey questionnaire in a sample of adolescents in Beijing, China. Methods A sample of 95 male and female students aged 11 or 15 years old participated in a test and retest with a three weeks interval. Student Identity numbers of respondents were utilized to permit matching of test-retest questionnaires. 23 items concerning physical activity, sedentary behaviour, sleep and substance use were evaluated by using the percentage of response shifts and the single measure Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICC) with 95% confidence interval (CI) for all respondents and stratified by gender and age. Items on substance use were only evaluated for school children aged 15 years old. Results The percentage of no response shift between test and retest varied from 32% for the item on computer use at weekends to 92% for the three items on smoking. Of all the 23 items evaluated, 6 items (26%) showed a moderate reliability, 12 items (52%) displayed a substantial reliability and 4 items (17%) indicated almost perfect reliability. No gender and age group difference of the test-retest reliability was found except for a few items on sedentary behaviour. Conclusions The overall findings of this study suggest that most selected indicators in the HBSC survey questionnaire have satisfactory test-retest reliability for the students in Beijing. Further test-retest studies in a large and diverse sample, as well as validity studies, should be considered for the future Chinese HBSC study.peerReviewe

Daily physical activity in Finnish adolescents with long term illnesses or disabilities: psychosocial associations with participation in sports club

Background: Physical activity (PA) in adolescence with long term illnesses or disabilities (LTID) is a public health concern. One way of increasing PA is through participation in sports clubs. Since sports clubs are organised and regular, there are expected to be differences in motivation for physical activity between adolescents that are members and non-members. The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of psychosocial factors on sports club membership and daily PA. Methods: Finnish adolescents with self-reported LTID (n=1006) took part in the WHO collaborative Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study in 2002 and 2010. Daily self-reported moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA) was the outcome variable. Psychosocial variables included intention for future PA, self-perceptions, and educational aspirations. Age and sports club membership was included in binary logistic regression analyses Analyses were done separately for boys and girls.&nbsp; Results: Adolescents with LTID who were sports club members were two times more likely to be active daily than non-members. However, for girls, there was no significant difference between members and non-members. Moreover, definite intention for future PA, higher self-perceptions, and educational aspirations to other education or training than general upper secondary school were significant predictors. Conclusions: Adolescents with LTID need encouragement to be active daily. One possible way to achieve this is through sports club participation. Implementing adaptive motivating techniques in sports clubs is especially important for girls in clubs. More research is needed on the associations of daily MVPA with different educational aspirations &nbsp;for adolescents with LTID

Attempts to lose weight among overweight and non-overweight adolescents: a cross-national survey

Background: Despite the global obesity epidemic, few studies have performed cross-national comparisons of adolescents' attempts to lose weight and weight control practices. This study aims to investigate matters mentioned above by weight status in Europe, Israel, and North America. Methods: Nationally representative samples of adolescents from over 30 countries completed an anonymous, standardized questionnaire as part of the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children 2001/2002 survey. The prevalence and likelihood of attempts to lose weight were determined. The effect of weight status, self-perception of overweight, age and country of residence upon the likelihood of current attempts to lose weight were evaluated using multilevel multivariate logistic regression in separate analyses for boys and girls. The study also presented the prevalence of weight control practices of overweight and non-overweight adolescents who had controlled their weight in seven countries. Results: In general, overweight and obese adolescents were more likely to be engaged in current attempts to lose weight and had tried to control their weight during the past 12 months more often than non-overweight adolescents. Besides weight status, self-perception of overweight and age were significant individual-level factors determining current attempts to lose weight. Country of residence was a significant second-level factor but no clear geographical pattern was found. Several gender-related differences existed. Conclusion: The findings indicated that most overweight adolescents were motivated to reduce their weight. The importance of promoting a healthy body image for all adolescents was highlighted by the fact that self-perception of overweight was found to be the most important factor leading to attempts to lose weight.peerReviewe

Loneliness, subjective health complaints, and medicine use among Finnish adolescents 2006-2018

Aims: Loneliness is an important public health challenge for all ages. This study reports time trends of loneliness among adolescents over a 12-year period and analyses the strength of the associations between loneliness, health complaints, and medicine use. Methods: Data were derived from the cross-sectional Finnish Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study conducted in 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018. The study population is based on a random sample of schools with 20,444 participants aged 11-15 years. The trends were analysed with a Mantel-Haenszel test, and the strength of the associations was evaluated by mixed-effects logistic and linear regressions. Results: An increasing prevalence in frequent loneliness (2006: 11%; 2018: 15%) was evident over the 12-year study period, especially in girls and 15-year-olds. Among all adolescents, loneliness was associated with a higher risk of recurrent health complaints and medicine use to treat the corresponding health issues, especially nervousness (odds ratio 5.8) and sleeping difficulties (odds ratio 7.6). Conclusions: Adolescence is a period of higher risk of frequent loneliness and associated health complaints. In this study, loneliness was common among adolescence and an increasing trend of loneliness was observed between 2006 and 2018. Also, psychosomatic health complaints and medicine use were strongly associated with loneliness. Persistent loneliness is a significant health risk and failure to resolve loneliness before entering adulthood may imply significant concerns for future well-being.</p

3-4 -vuotiaiden lasten fyysinen aktiivisuus päiväkodissa eri vuodenaikoina sekä varhaiskasvattajan kannustuksen yhteys lasten fyysiseen aktiivisuuteen

The aim of this study was to determine whether season has an influence on the physical activity intensity of 3-4-year-old pre-school children. A further aim was to investigate the influence of prompting from teachers on the intensity of childrens’ physical activity. Volunteer children born in 2007 comprised the research group. The research data were collected from 14 day care centers during January & February (N 94) and August & September (N 118) 2011 by using the OSRAC-P direct observational method. The level of intensity of the childrens’ physical activity was mainly sedentary (60 %). The occurrence of moderate to vigorous physical activity was 10 %. Season had a significant effect on physical activity: children were notably more active in August & September than in January & February. Teachers very rarely prompted children to increase their physical activity but when they did, the childrens’ activity level was notably higher than in situations where there was no prompting at all. In the prompting situation, physical activity was notably higher in August & September than in January & February. In the future, it would be important to consider how day-care-centers could better benefit from seasonal changes so as to encourage children to increase their physical activity through the year.Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli selvittää 3-4-vuotiaiden lasten fyysisen aktiivisuuden intensiteetin eroja päiväkodissa eri vuodenaikoina sekä varhaiskasvattajan kannustuksen yhteyttä lasten fyysiseen aktiivisuuteen. Tutkimusjoukko muodostui päiväkotien vuonna 2007 syntyneistä vapaaehtoisista lapsista. Tutkimusaineisto kerättiin havainnoimalla OSRAC-P -havainnointimenetelmän avulla 14 päiväkodissa tammi-helmikuussa (N 94) sekä elo-syyskuussa (N 118) vuonna 2011. Lasten fyysinen aktiivisuus oli pääosan ajasta (noin 60 %) intensiteetiltään erittäin kevyttä. Intensiteetiltään vähintään keskiraskaan fyysisen aktiivisuuden esiintyvyys oli noin 10 %. Vuodenajalla oli erittäin merkitsevä yhteys lasten fyysisen aktiivisuuden intensiteettiin, sillä lapset olivat huomattavasti aktiivisempia elo-syyskuussa kuin tammi-helmikuussa. Varhaiskasvattajat kannustivat lapsia vain harvoin fyysiseen aktiivisuuteen, vaikka lasten aktiivisuus oli merkitsevästi suurempaa kannustettaessa. Varhaiskasvattajan kannustusta sisältäneissä tilanteissa lasten fyysinen aktiivisuus oli merkitsevästi suurempaa elo-syyskuussa kuin tammi-helmikuussa. Jatkossa tulisikin kiinnittää huomiota siihen, miten päiväkodeissa voitaisiin hyödyntää eri vuodenajat paremmin ja mahdollistaa lapsille fyysiseen aktiivisuuteen kannustavat olosuhteet ympäri vuode

Physical activity from adolescence to young adulthood : patterns of change, and their associations with activity domains and sedentary time

BackgroundLongitudinal studies demonstrate an average decline in physical activity (PA) from adolescence to young adulthood. However, while some subgroups of adolescents decrease activity, others increase or maintain high or low activity. Activity domains may differ between subgroups (exhibiting different PA patterns), and they offer valuable information for targeted health promotion. Hence, the aim of this study was to identify PA patterns from adolescence to young adulthood; also to explore the associations of (i) changes in PA domains and in sedentary time, (ii) sociodemographic factors, and (iii) self-rated health with diverging PA patterns.MethodsThe observational cohort study data encompassed 254 adolescents at age 15 and age 19. K-means cluster analysis for longitudinal data was performed to identify participant clusters (patterns) based on their accelerometry-measured moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA). Logistic regressions were applied in further analysis.ResultsFive PA patterns were identified: inactivity maintainers (n=71), activity maintainers (n=70), decreasers from moderate (to low) PA (n=61), decreasers from high (to moderate) PA (n=32), and increasers (n=20).At age 15, participation in sports clubs (SC, 41-97%) and active commuting (AC, 47-75%) was common in all the patterns. By age 19, clear dropout from these activities was prevalent (SC participation mean 32%, AC 31-63%). Inactivity maintainers reported the lowest amount of weekly school physical education.Dropout from SC - in contrast to non-participation in SC - was associated with higher odds of being a decreaser from high PA, and with lower odds of being an inactivity maintainer. Maintained SC participation was associated with higher odds of belonging to the decreasers from high PA, and to the combined group of activity maintainers and increasers; also with lower odds of being an inactivity maintainer. Maintenance/adoption of AC was associated with decreased odds of being an inactivity maintainer. Self-reported health at age 19 was associated with the patterns of maintained activity and inactivity.ConclusionsPA patterns diverge over the transition to adulthood. Changes in SC participation and AC show different associations with diverging PA patterns. Hence, tailored PA promotion is recommended.Peer reviewe

Physical Activity, Screen Time and Sleep among Youth Participating and Non-Participating in Organized Sports - The Finnish Health Promoting Sports Club (FHPSC) Study

Objectives: The aim of this Health Promoting Sport Club (HPSC) study was to compare physical activity (PA), sleep time and screen time (ST) between sports club participants (n = 1200) and non-participants (n = 913). Design: A cross-sectional survey design was employed to assess PA, sleep and ST of adolescents.Methods: Information on these was collected from 14 to 16 year old adolescents (1200 sport club participants and 913 non-participants) through a standardized questionnaire. Results: Boys were more physically active than girls and met the PA guidelines more often than girls (p Conclusions: Youth participating in organized sports met the recommendations for PA, ST and sleep more often than nonparticipants, supporting sports clubs’ contribution to health promotion. At the same time, only minor portion of sporting youth met the recommendations, therefore more attention should be focused on sport club participants’ PA, sleep and ST especially in coaching.</p