Abstract

Objective: The study aims to analyze obesogenic behavioral patterns of adolescents living in Mureş County, Romania, as well as to establish a relationship between these behaviors and their Body Mass Index (BMI), in an attempt to provide effective prevention strategies for obesity.

Material and Methods: 153 students between 9th to 12th grade, aged between 14 and 19 years old, from the Vocational and Art Highschool of Târgu Mureş were included in the study. All the candidates filled out an evaluation questionnaire of lifestyle and risky behaviors. The analyzed data were sex, age, residence, BMI and risky eating behavior defined as the consumption of carbohydrates (bread, potatoes, sweets), sodas, junk food, alcohol (wine, distilled beverages, beer), beer separately, level of physical activity (school and extra-school sports activities), sedentary behaviors (≥2 hours/day in front of a screen: personal computer-PC and television-TV), and spending ≥2 hours/day separately on the PC and on the TV.

Results: A statistically significant association was observed between BMI and consumption of fast-food, tobacco, beer, sedentary behavior and spending ≥2 hours/day in front of the PC. Moreover, there was a statistically significant difference between the BMI values of adolescents presenting all studied risk behaviors compared to those who did not.

Conclusions: Obesity among adolescents from Mureş County is influenced by lifestyle choices like fast-food, tobacco, beer, sedentary behavior and spending ≥2 hours/day in front of the PC.

Details

Title
The Association between Various Lifestyle Patterns and the Body Mass Index in Adolescents
Author
Irina-Bianca Kosovski 1 ; Dana-Valentina Ghiga 2 ; Tarcea, Monica 3 ; Ciurea, Cristina Nicoleta 4 ; Savin, Ana Ioana 5 ; Bacârea, Anca 6 

 Clinical laboratory Department of Emergency Clinical County Hospital of Târgu Mures, Romania 
 Research Methodology Department, University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology of Târgu Mures, Romania 
 Community Nutrition and Food Safety Department, University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology of Târgu Mures, Romania 
 Microbiology, virology and parasitology Department, University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology of Târgu Mures, Romania 
 Pathology Department, Colentina University Clinical Hospital, Bucharest, Romania 
 Pathophysiology Department, University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology of Târgu Mures, Romania 
Pages
111-115
Publication year
2019
Publication date
2019
Publisher
De Gruyter Poland
ISSN
20683324
e-ISSN
22476113
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
3155135759
Copyright
© 2019. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0 (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.