Influence of Lifestyle Habits in the Development of Obesity during Adolescence

Abstract

Background: The alarming increase in childhood obesity is a global public health problem since it has significant health consequences. This cross-sectional study aimed to identify the potentially modifiable risk factors for developing excess weight and determine the importance of developing certain habits to prevent childhood overweight and obesity. Methods: The sample included 416 students between the ages of 12 and 14 (12.8 ± 0.62) first-year high school students from Murcia in Spain. Data were collected on their lifestyle habits through the ENHASA questionnaire, and the somatometry of the participants was measured. Such data were studied through structural equation modeling and importance-performance map analyses. Results: The modifiable risk factors that presented the greatest potency directly regarding when developing excess weight in adolescents were ‘use of electronic devices’ and ‘not performing physical activity’ (p < 0.001). ‘Social and school environment’ and ‘diet’ showed relationships but no significant differences with overweight or obesity. Globally, the lifestyle habit of the greatest importance for not being overweight was ‘engagement in extracurricular physical activities’. On the other hand, the habits related to using new technologies in a sedentary way showed the best capacity for improvement. Therefore, it would be very efficient to focus on them to control excess weight. Conclusion: Responsible and limited use of screens and engaging in extracurricular physical activities may be the most remarkable and cost-effective strategies for obesity prevention programs.

Are physical activity and/or adherence to the Mediterranean diet determinants of the changes found in kinanthropometric variables, body composition and physical fitness in adolescents?

“…There is little previous research that has examined the predictive ability of physical activity and AMD to lead to changes in anthropometric variables, body composition and physical fitness. However, similar previous research to predict the development of obesity during adolescence found that the most important predictor of freedom from obesity was participation in extracurricular physical activity and limited screen use [6,69]. Despite the results of the present study, it should also be noted that the ability to influence changes in the dependent variables was low.…”

The Role of Physical Education in Preventing Unhealthy Lifestyles in Immigrant Adolescents

“…The most notorious are those more related to the dependent variable construct because of their conceptual proximity to both variables. Thus, the direct relationships between physical exercise (0.239) [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 16 ] and physical activity (0.205) [ 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ] with sports stand out, the former being the most relevant of all the variables. This can be explained by the relationship between both manifestations of human motor activity, which results in a positive tendency among those who practise any ordered and systematised physical activity, entailing a step forward in the regulation and institutionalisation of human motor activity.…”

“…For this reason, the programmes of health promotion worldwide have usually been based on the integration of physical activity in daily life by encouraging all social groups through intervention strategies [ 21 ]. The positive relationship between physical activity and health is widely known [ 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ], but the theoretical models or paradigms which study these relationships are continuously revised and transformed. There partially lies much of the importance of this work.…”

Consumo Regular De Alimentos Funcionais E Seus Benefícios Para a Saúde

“…(CALCATERRA et al, 2022). A presença de obesidade na infância pode implicar no aparecimento de doenças cardiovasculares e diabetes tipo 2 em idades cada vez mais precoces, bem como alterações ortopédicas, gastrointestinais, doenças metabólicas, respiratórias, neurológicas ou dermatológicas, causar distúrbios do sono, como apneia obstrutiva do sono ou insônia, complicações psicológicas e sociais: depressão, ansiedade ou isolamento social (CARPENA LUCAS et al, 2022).…”