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Intervention appeared to improve obesity-related behaviors of adolescents
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Public health efforts to improve behaviors related to obesity among US adolescents are resulting in some success, according to recent study findings published in Pediatrics.
“Efforts to increase adolescent [physical activity] and reduce time spent watching television may be working,” wrote Ronald J. Iannotti, PhD, and Jing Wang, PhD, both of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. “The potential role of pediatricians in improving these adolescent obesogenic behaviors needs further study.”
US students in sixth through 10th grade were evaluated during the 2001 to 2002 (n=14,607), 2005 to 2006 (n=9,150) and 2009 to 2010 (n=10,848) school years using the Health Behavior in School-aged Children quadrennial surveys. Questions examined BMI, physical activity, and sedentary and dietary behaviors at each school year.
Researchers found increases in the number of days with at least 60 minutes of physical activity, daily consumption of fruits and vegetables, eating breakfast on weekdays and weekends, and BMI. The amount of time watching television and consumption of sweets and sweetened beverages decreased during the study time periods.
“More research is needed to support the efficacy of brief physician interventions as a means of improving obesogenic behaviors in adolescents; however, incorporating behavior change principals into ongoing pediatric care may have promise,” the researchers wrote. “Maintaining a focus on [physical activity] and diet while broadening efforts to decrease [sedentary behaviors] may be necessary.”
Disclosure: The study was funded in part by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the Maternal and Child Health Bureau of the Health Resources and Services Administration and NIH.
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