Objective: To examine the prevalence of overweight and obesity in Polish adolescents in 2005 using both the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) cut-offs and a national reference; to compare this to data collected in 1995; and to assess whether there were differences in overweight or obesity by gender and place of residence in 1995-2005. Design: BMI was calculated from measured height and weight, collected in a cross-sectional study in five regions of Poland in 2005. Adolescents were categorised as normal, overweight or obese based on IOTF cut-off values, and by national weight for stature tables, where the 90th and 97th percentiles were used as cut-off values for overweight and obesity. Setting: Population-based study set in Poland. Subjects: A two-stage sampling method was used to recruit 8065 pupils (3980 boys and 4085 girls) aged 13-15 years. Results: The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 12?5 % and 1?9 %, respectively. No significant gender differences were found, either in overweight or obesity. The prevalence of overweight and obesity in 2005 had increased 2 % compared to 1995. Overweight and obesity among adolescents were not related to urban-rural residence, but there were significant regional differences. Conclusions: Monitoring trends in overweight and obesity among adolescents in all regions of Poland using the same reference criteria is important. Since regional differences in overweight and obesity rates among adolescents were observed both in 1995 and 2005, future research should investigate the potential causes of these differences. KeywordsObesity Overweight Adolescents Gender Regional differences Puberty constitutes a critical period of life when adolescents are particularly prone to development of obesity (1,2) . Several studies have suggested that up to 80 % of overweight adolescents will become obese adults (3,4) . Thus, the incidence of overweight and obesity among adolescents is of public health concern and should be closely monitored.A study carried out in Poland in 1995 on a population of two million schoolchildren and adolescents aged 6-17 years in almost all regions of Poland revealed gender and regional differences (5) . The present study population was divided into five age groups: 6-7, 9-10, 14-15 and 16-17 years. There were 439 262 adolescents in the age group of 14-15 years. School nurses measured their height and weight. The national charts of weight for stature for boys and girls were used. Pupils above the 90th percentile were identified as overweight and those above the 97th percentile as obese (5) .In the age group of 14-15 years, the prevalence of overweight (including obesity) was 8?9 % for the whole sample, 7?8 % for boys and 9?9 % for girls (P , 0?001). The prevalence of obesity was 3?8 %; 3?5 % for boys and 4?1 % for girls (P , 0?001). The prevalence of overweight and obesity in the whole study population (all age groups) was higher in urban (9?4 %) than in rural areas (7?1 %; P , 0?001). The highest overweight rate was reported in the Podlaskie region ...

Very little is known about how multicomponent interventions directed to entire populations work in selected groups of adolescents. The aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Healthy Me one-year program on changes in healthy eating and physical activity among overweight and non-overweight female students. Randomization involved the allocation of full, partial or null intervention. The randomized field trial was implemented in 48 secondary schools (clusters) all over Poland among 1198 15-year-old girls. In this study, a sample of N = 1111 girls who participated in each evaluation study was analyzed. Using multimedia technologies, efforts were made to improve health behaviors and increase self-efficacy. The main outcome was a health behavior index (HBI), built on the basis of six nutritional indicators and one related to physical activity. HBI was analyzed before and immediately after intervention and at three months’ follow-up, and the HBI change was modeled. Statistical analysis included nonparametric tests and generalized linear models with two-way interactions. Comparing the first and third surveys, in the overweight girls, the HBI index improved by 0.348 (SD = 3.17), while in the non-overweight girls it had worsened. After adjusting for other factors, a significant interaction between body weight status and level of self-efficacy as predictors of HBI changes was confirmed. The program turned out to be more beneficial for overweight girls.

Predictors of high-risk patterns of substance use are often analysed in relation to demographic and school-related factors. The interaction between these factors and the additional impact of family wealth are still new areas of research. The aim of this study was to find determinants of the most common patterns of psychoactive substance use in mid-adolescence, compared to non-users. A sample of 1202 Polish students (46.1% boys, mean age of 15.6 years) was surveyed in 2013/2014. Four patterns of psychoactive substance use were defined using cluster analysis: non-users—71.9%, mainly tobacco and alcohol users—13.7%, high alcohol and cannabis users—7.2%, poly-users—7.2%. The final model contained the main effects of gender and age, and one three-way (perceived academic achievement × gender × family affluence) interaction. Girls with poor perception of school performance (as compared to girls with better achievements) were at significantly higher risk of being poly-users, in both less and more affluent families (adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 5.55 and OR = 3.60, respectively). The impact of family affluence was revealed only in interaction with other factors. Patterns of substance use in mid-adolescence are strongly related to perceived academic achievements, and these interact with selected socio-demographic factors.

Introduction

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