Dietary habits are an important factor in the protection of adolescent health. The quality and frequency of breakfast and the various food groups can affect the wellbeing of this population group in both the short and long term. Research indicates that there is a range of relevant variables in the study of diet at this stage: following a weight loss diet, body mass index and the practice of physical exercise, amongst others. In this paper, all three variables are analysed, together with others of a demographic nature (sex and age). This is a descriptive cross-sectional survey that was carried out on 1318 adolescents aged 11 to 18. The Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC) international study questionnaire, sponsored by the World Health Organisation, was used. In general terms, the data revealed that the majority of adolescents do not have adequate eating patterns. The quality and frequency of breakfast and the consumption of food types are associated with almost all the variables under study; additionally, there are significant differences by sex and school year. Finally, proposals are made to prevent eating disorders, which are appearing at an increasingly young age.

Excess weight has been associated with numerous psychosocial problems and is considered to be one of the most important health problems of today. The aim of this study is to analyze the relationship between weight status, which is evaluated by means of the body mass index (BMI), and the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and life satisfaction (LS) variables in Spanish adolescents, as well as to examine whether gender influences this interrelationship. A total of 1197 subjects studying in their 1st and 4th years of high school (mean age: 14.4 years, SD: 1.69) participated in the study by completing the Health Behavior in School-Aged Children (HBSC) questionnaire. Then, the participants were grouped into the following categories: underweight, normal weight, overweight, and obese. The results show that boys have significantly higher HRQoL as well as higher levels of LS. On the other hand, only the obese group shows significantly lower scores in both HRQoL and LS than those in the normal-weight group. The interaction of weight category and gender does not have a significant impact on the variables that have been analyzed (HRQoL or LS).

Health-related quality of life, teachers’ opinion of academic performance and self-perceived health are indicators of well-being in the adolescent stage. Some variables, such as those related to the quality of family and parental relationships, may influence these indicators and thus condition well-being during this stage of life and beyond. In this research, the aforementioned variables are analyzed jointly. It is a cross-sectional study in which 1375 adolescent schoolchildren between 11 and 18 years of age participated. Different instruments such as KIDSCREEN-10 and the questionnaire used in the international study Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children were used. The results obtained allow us to conclude that HRQoL, the teacher’s opinion of performance and the perception of health status improve as adolescents perceive a more favorable family climate, also helped by good relations between parents. Finally, it is proposed to continue with the efforts made in the school, family environment and other areas because of the enormous potential for generating quality of life in the adolescent stage and the consequent positive repercussions this has on adulthood.

The main purpose of this study is to understand the Quality of Life Associated with Health (QLAH) of a sample of school-age adolescents, and the existing associations between the latter and other variables, such as family life satisfaction, personal life satisfaction (LS), friendships satisfaction, physical activity with family, friends and personal physical activity. The sample consisted of 1226 Spanish school-age adolescents (50.9% boys and 40.1% girls) with ages between 12 and 16 years old. Several scales that were extracted from the international Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) 2016 study, sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO), were used as working instruments in this piece of research. SPSS (24.0) was the software package used to perform the analyses of descriptive statistics, correlation and multiple regression, whereas AMOS (24.0) was used for structural equations. The results reveal a strong association between the physical activity (PA) students undertake (personal, with their families and friends) and life satisfaction, family life satisfaction and satisfaction with the relationships with friends. Additionally, both constructs (physical activity and satisfaction, understood as an indicator of good health) can predict the respondents’ Quality of Life Associated with Health. The variables (QLAH, LS and PA) are interrelated, thus resulting in major practical implications.

El uso de las nuevas tecnologías en el tiempo libre es cada vez más frecuente entre la población adolescente. Este hábito puede tener como consecuencia una disminución de la actividad física diaria, generando así problemas de salud como el sobrepeso y la obesidad. Esta investigación pretende estudiar las horas diarias de pantalla durante el tiempo libre de 1.264 estudiantes de 1º y 4º de Educación Secundaria y comprobar si éstas se relacionan con la actividad física que practican; además se plantea conocer si existen diferencias significativas en las horas diarias de pantalla según el sexo y el curso escolar de los encuestados. Los resultados muestran que un 47.7% de los adolescentes encuestados pasan 5 horas o más al día ante la pantalla ya sea televisión, videojuegos o usando el ordenador; y además se trata de un hábito más frecuente en el alumnado de 4º de ESO. No se encontraron diferencias significativas según el sexo, en cambio sí las hay según el curso escolar pasando más tiempo ante la pantalla los alumnos de 4º de ESO que los alumnos de 1º de ESO. Por otro lado, la falta de relación entre las horas de pantalla y la práctica de actividad física confirma lo encontrado en otros estudios internacionales: ambas actividades son compatibles porque se producirían en distintos momentos del día.