Evaluation of lifestyle of female adolescents through latent class analysis approach

Abstract

BackgroundLack of regular physical activity, high sedentary behavior and presence of unbalanced alimentary practices are attitudes associated with an inadequate lifestyle among female adolescents.Objectiveto assess the lifestyle of female adolescents based on measurements of behavioral variables.MethodsCross-sectional study with 405 female adolescents between 14 and 19 years old, resident and attending public schools in Viçosa (state of Minas Gerais). Their lifestyle was analyzed by the Physical Activity Recall, number of steps, screen time (ST), cellphone time (CT), sitting time, food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), and alcohol and tobacco consumption. With multiple correspondence analysis it was possible to observe dispersion and approximation of the variables’ categories. Latent class analysis (LCA) was used for modeling the “lifestyle” variable, having been conducted in the poLCA (Polychromous Variable Latent Class Analysis) package of the R statistical software.ResultsThe mean age was 15.92 ± 1.27 years. Most of the adolescents were considered physically inactive (78%) and with low number of steps (82.57%); 41.45% reported not performing Moderate to Vigorous Physical Activities (MVPA) adequately. Sedentary behavior was found high when assessing ST (72.90%) and CT (65.31%). It was found the best fitted latent class model for the lifestyle (p-G2 = 0.055, p-χ2 = 0.066) featured three latent classes and one covariate (alcohol): Class 1, ‘Inactive and Sedentary’ (γ = 77.5%); Class 2, ‘Inactive and Non-sedentary lifestyle (γ=16.31%); and Class 3, ‘Active and sedentary’ (γ=6.19%). Female adolescents that had ‘never consumed alcohol’ were 2.26 times as likely (log OR = 0.8174; p = 0.033) to belong to class 3 (Active & Sedentary lifestyle) than to class 1 (Inactive & Sedentary lifestyle).ConclusionLatent class analysis model with five manifest variable (MVPA, number of steps, ST, sitting time and number of meals) and alcohol consumption like covariate showed itself to be an accurate and objective method in the assessment of female adolescents’ lifestyle. Female adolescents that had ‘never consumed alcohol’ were more as likely to belong to class ‘Active & Sedentary lifestyle’ than to class Inactive & Sedentary lifestyle. An inactive and sedentary lifestyle is coupled to other unhealthy behaviors during adolescence, possibly carrying over into adult life.

Abundance of Gut Microbiota, Concentration of Short-Chain Fatty Acids, and Inflammatory Markers Associated with Elevated Body Fat, Overweight, and Obesity in Female Adolescents

“…An experimental and comparative study was carried out with female adolescents ranging from 14 to 19 years of age, enrolled at public schools in Viçosa, MG, Brazil, and living in the same city. All participants were part of an earlier research project called "Evaluation of Lifestyle of Female Adolescents through Latent Class Analysis Approach," which is described elsewhere [12]. The girls who participated in the study were randomly selected and grouped into three different groups according to their body mass index (BMI) classification and body fat percentage (BF%).…”

Behavioral classes related to physical activity and sedentary behavior on the evaluation of health and mental outcomes among Brazilian adolescents

“…This method is appropriate for analysis of interactions and associations between different kinds of behavioral variables. It is a personcentered approach and hence, can offer better conditions to evaluate heterogeneous and asymmetric variables, such as those related to the adolescents' lifestyle [15]. LCA was conducted in the poLCA package (Polytomous Variable Latent Class Analysis) [38] available in the library of the R Statistical Software.…”

“…Recently, cluster analysis has been applied in different population targets to overcome this limitation and to explain the interplay among different lifestyle behaviors [13,[15][16][17][18][19][20][21]. Latent class analysis (LCA) is one type of clustering method and has emerged as an approach to assist researchers interested in a better understanding of behavioral patterns and their association with health outcomes [22].…”

“…Previous studies have involved a range of lifestyle behaviors in addition to MVPA and SB, such as sleep duration, physical violence, alcohol and tobacco use, and fruit and vegetable intake, among others [13,[15][16][17][18][19][20][21]. Moreover, out of these studies, just one study was carried out in Brazil but it was restricted to female adolescents [15]. Together, the findings of these studies imply that risky behaviors are prevalent and cluster together, with the majority of the adolescents being involved in unhealthy levels of MVPA and SB.…”

Sedentary Behavior and Cardiovascular Risk in Children: A Systematic Review

“…Considering the multiple components, complexity, and potential interactions between the multiple determinants of sedentary behavior, it is necessary to use methods that allow for the evaluation of sedentary behavior as a construct. Alternative methods have recently been used to evaluate the lifestyle of adolescents, 71 in which the approach with a latent variable allows concomitant analysis through the iteration of manifesting variables.…”