Physical activity and eating habits in a young population

PURPOSE Health-related behaviors such as physical activity and eating habits have been recognized as key aspects of lifestyle. Lifestyle habits adopted in adolescence can be traced into adulthood. These influence the risk of not communicable chronic disease. The aim of the study was to evaluate the physical activity (PA) and eating habits (EH) in young people. METHODS 922 young people - 719 males (M 78.0%) and 203 females (F 19.8%) - ages 8 to 18 (mean age 13.7±2.7 yr, weight 54.6±15.2 kg, height 163±0.16 cm) were enrolled. During the evaluation for sport eligibility in the Sports Medicine Department, we asked participants to complete a questionnaire in order to assess physical activity and eating habits (INRAN, Italian Institute for Research in Food and Nutrition). The questionnaire investigated: - PA: <1h in a week as not adequate, > 1h in a week as adequate; - EH: weekly frequencies of food groups, food allergies and frequency and type of supplements (S), site where meals were consumed. Statistical analyses were performed using a two-sided p-value <0.05 which was considered significant. RESULTS Normal weight (NW): 772 subjects (86.3 %); Overweight (OW) 111 subjects (12.4 %, 80 M and 31 F); Obese (OB) 12 subjects (1.3%, 8 M and 4 F). 473 NW (62.3 %) are PA adequate; 286 (37.7%) PA are not adequate. 61 OW (55.5 %) are PA adequate and 49 (44.5%) are not adequate. 5 OB (41.7%) are PA adequate while 7 (58.3%) reported no PA in addition to sports practiced. Who have more PA show less BMI (p=0.001), NW subjects have more PA during a week (p=0.03) in comparison to OW subjects. EH of whole sample are incorrect; in addition OW children eat less cereals (p=0.02), dried fruits (p=0.02) and desserts (p=0.006) in comparison with the international guidelines. 14.7% have reported taking S and 13% of these habitually. The S predominantly taken were Vitamins + Minerals. CONCLUSIONS Eating habits and physical activity in a young population does not follow international guidelines; in fact 13.3% are OW and OB although the sample engages in regular sports practice. Therefore, higher education is necessary in order to promote a healthy lifestyle in terms of EH and PA. The goal of this intervention is to avoid the increase in body mass in young people, and therefore to prevent not communicable chronic disease in adulthood.