A few associations between eating habits and body fatness were found, but without any obvious patterns. The true differences in eating habits between lean and overweight adolescents are probably very small.

Objective: To describe the differences in socio-economic characteristics and body measurements between low, adequate and high energy reporting (LER, AER and HER) teenagers; furthermore, to investigate the relationship to misreporting mothers. Design: Cross-sectional study. Habitual dietary intake was reported in a questionnaire. Classification into LER, AER and HER using the Goldberg equation within three activity groups based on physical activity questionnaire and calculated BMR. Setting: Stockholm, Sweden. Subjects: Four hundred and forty-one 16-17-year-old teenagers (57 % girls) and their mothers. Result: Of the teenagers, 17-19 % were classified as HER, while 13-16 % as LER. There was a highly significant trend from HER to LER in BMI (P , 0?001) and body fat % (P , 0?001). There was also a trend in number of working hours of mother (P 5 0?01), family income (P 5 0?008) and number of siblings (among boys only) (P 5 0?02), but not in educational level of either father or mother. HER teenagers were lean, had mothers working fewer hours with lower income and had siblings. It was more likely that an LER girl had an LER mother than an AER mother (OR 5 3?32; P 5 0?002). Conclusions:The reasons for the high number of over-reporters could be many: misclassification due to growth, lacking established eating pattern due to young age or method-specific. Nevertheless, the inverted characteristic of HER compared to LER indicates that this is a specific group, worth further investigation.

The aim of the study was to investigate how soft drink and fruit juice consumption in teenagers is associated with life-style, other food choices, eating behaviour and maternal characteristics. A cross-sectional study of 16-year-old girls (n 275) and boys (n 199) and their mothers was undertaken. Questionnaires were used to assess habitual dietary intake, eating behaviour, physical activity, smoking and educational level. Weight and height were measured. It was found that eating breakfast less than five times per week was independently associated with a high soft drink consumption in both girls and boys. A low intake of cooked meals and milk and a high intake of salty snacks were associated with soft drinks in boys only, and a low intake of fruits in girls only. A high maternal juice intake, low milk and high fruit consumption were independent correlates of fruit juice intake in both girls and boys. In girls, being a smoker, having a smoking mother, a high soft drink intake, scoring low on emotional eating and high on cognitive restraint were also associated with fruit juice intake. A low intake of soft drinks and cooked meals was associated with fruit juice intake in boys only. Neither soft drinks nor fruit juice was associated with BMI. In conclusion, a high intake of both fruit juice and soft drinks were associated with a lower intake of foods such as milk and cooked meals. It might be possible to influence fruit juice intake among teenagers by aiming at their mothers, whereas the adolescents themselves should be targeted when the aim is to reduce soft drink consumption.