Psychosocial Correlates of Physical Activity and Sedentary Leisure Habits in Young Adolescents: The Teens Eating for Energy and Nutrition at School Study

BACKGROUND: Low levels of physical activity (PA) and highly sedentary leisure habits (SLH) in youth may establish behavioral patterns that will predispose youth to increased chronic disease risk in adulthood. The purpose of this paper was to examine associations of demographic and psychosocial factors with self-reported PA and SLH in young adolescents. METHODS: A general linear mixed model predicted self-reported PA and SLH in the spring from demographic and psychosocial variables measured the previous fall in 3798 seventh grade students. RESULTS: PA and SLH differed by race, with Caucasian students reporting among the highest PA and lowest SLH. Perceptions of higher academic rank or expectations predicted higher PA and lower SLH. Depressive symptomatology predicted higher SLH scores but not PA. Higher self-reported value of health, appearance, and achievement predicted higher PA and lower SLH in girls. Girls who reported that their mothers had an authoritative parenting style also reported higher PA and lower SLH. CONCLUSIONS: Determinants of PA and SLH appear to differ from each other, particularly in boys. Development of effective programs to increase PA and/or decrease SLH in young adolescents should be based on a clear understanding of the determinants of these behaviors

Predicting Adolescents’ Intake of Fruits and Vegetables

Objective To explore potential predictors of adolescent fruit and vegetable intake by expanding on current theory and drawing from other adolescent research. Design This research reports on the baseline and interim data from a school-based intervention study. Data were collected through surveys administered to students at the beginning and end of their 7th-grade year. Setting The students attended 16 public schools in Minnesota. Participants Data were collected on 3878 students; approximately half were female and 67% were white. All students in the 7th-grade cohort were invited to participate in the surveys and over 94% completed both surveys. Variables Measured Our dependent variable, fruit and vegetable intake, was assessed by a validated fruit and vegetable food frequency scale. Predictive factors assessed included parenting style, spirituality/religiosity, depressive symptoms, and other commonly assessed predictors. Analysis Generalized linear mixed model regression. Omnibus test of association using P \u3c .05 is reported. Results Subjective norms, barriers, knowledge, usual food choice, parenting style, spirituality /religiosity, and depressive symptoms were statistically significant predictors of intake. The model explained about 31% of the variance in fruit and vegetable consumption. Conclusions and Implications To better understand adolescents\u27 fruit and vegetable intake, we must explore novel predictors. Our results need to be replicated, and more exploratory research in this field is needed

School-Based Approaches to Affect Adolescents’ Diets: Results From the TEENS Study

This article reports on the outcomes of the Teens Eating for Energy and Nutrition at School (TEENS) study, a 2-year intervention study conducted in 16 middle schools with a goal of increasing students’ intakes of fruits, vegetables, and lower-fat foods. Despite positive interim results for students randomized to intervention schools, the positive effects of the intervention were not seen for the primary outcomes at the end of the 2nd year. Positive effects were seen only for a food choice score (suggesting that the students usually choose lower versus higher fat foods) and not for measures of food intake. Future studies may need to take a step back toward more controlled efficacy studies in working with this age group. In addition, future work may consider the use of peer leaders, more intensive teacher training, ongoing formative assessment, and the testing of more powerful environmental change intervention strategies

Policies and Opportunities for Physical Activity in Middle School Environments

This study examined physical activity opportunities and barriers at 36 geographically diverse middle schools participating in the Trial of Activity for Adolescent Girls

Substance use and dietary practices among students attending alternative high schools: results from a pilot study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Substance use and poor dietary practices are prevalent among adolescents. The purpose of this study was to examine frequency of substance use and associations between cigarette, alcohol and marijuana use and selected dietary practices, such as sugar-sweetened beverages, high-fat foods, fruits and vegetables, and frequency of fast food restaurant use among alternative high school students. Associations between multi-substance use and the same dietary practices were also examined.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A convenience sample of adolescents (n = 145; 61% minority, 52% male) attending six alternative high schools in the St Paul/Minneapolis metropolitan area completed baseline surveys. Students were participants in the Team COOL (Controlling Overweight and Obesity for Life) pilot study, a group randomized obesity prevention pilot trial. Mixed model multivariate analyses procedures were used to assess associations of interest.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Daily cigarette smoking was reported by 36% of students. Cigarette smoking was positively associated with consumption of regular soda (p = 0.019), high-fat foods (p = 0.037), and fast food restaurant use (p = 0.002). Alcohol (p = 0.005) and marijuana use (p = 0.035) were positively associated with high-fat food intake. With increasing numbers of substances, a positive trend was observed in high-fat food intake (p = 0.0003). There were no significant associations between substance use and fruit and vegetable intake.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Alternative high school students who use individual substances as well as multiple substances may be at high risk of unhealthful dietary practices. Comprehensive health interventions in alternative high schools have the potential of reducing health-compromising behaviors that are prevalent among this group of students. This study adds to the limited research examining substance use and diet among at-risk youth.</p> <p>Trial registration number</p> <p>ClinicalTrials.gov: <a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01315743">NCT01315743</a></p

Objectively Measured Physical Activity in Urban Alternative High School Students

Introduction—Alternative high school students are an underserved population of youth at greater risk for poor health behaviors and outcomes. Little is known about their physical activity patterns. Purpose—The purpose of this study was to describe 1) physical activity levels of students attending alternative high schools (AHS) in St. Paul/Minneapolis, MN and 2) compliance with wearing a physical activity accelerometer. Methods—Sixty-five students (59% male, 65% \u3c18 years\u3eold, 51% African-American, 17% Caucasian, 32% mixed and other) wore an accelerometer during all waking hours for seven days as part of the baseline assessment for a school-based physical activity and dietary behavior intervention. Accelerometer data was reduced to summary variables using a custom software program. Compliance with wearing the accelerometer was assessed by the number of days with ≥10-hours of data. Accelerometer counts/min, and minutes spent in moderate to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) were calculated. Results—Students averaged 323±143.0 counts.min-1 and 51±25.5 min.d-1 of MVPA. Minutes of MVPA.d-1 were greater on weekdays compared to the weekend (52±27.3 vs. 43±39.7 min.d-1, respectively; p=0.05). However, students wore the accelerometer less on the weekends (weekdays=17.2±3.0, weekend=14.9±6.8 hrs.d-1). Expressing minutes of MVPA as a percentage of the number of minutes of available data, students spent approximately 5% of their time in MVPA on weekdays and weekends. Forty-five percent of students had 7-days of data, 51% had 4-6 days, and 5% had fewer than four days. On average, students wore the accelerometer for 17±3.2 hrs.d-1 (range 12.0-23.8 hrs.d-1). Conclusion—Compliance was high (95% of students provided at least four days of data) and physical activity was relatively low representing a vulnerable population in need of further study and intervention