Body size and lifestyle in an urban population entering adulthood: the ‘Grow up Gothenburg’ Study

Abstract

Within this generally healthy cohort, boys were more likely to be overweight/obese than girls, although paradoxically boys were more satisfied with their appearance. Nordic girls constitute a group with particularly high risk of reporting low body self-esteem and chronic morbidity. In the longer term, the current cross-sectional data on body size, lifestyle and health will provide important baseline information for future follow-up studies of health outcomes in later life.

Balancing body perception during growth and development

“…The latter group, in turn, was inversely related to consumption of sweets and sugary drinks. Such food consumption patterns among boys have also been observed in other studies (68,79). In contrast, among girls, breakfast consumption varied directly with consumption of lunch, dinner, fruits and vegetables, and inversely with consumption of sweets and sugary drinks.…”

“…In western societies, daily consumption of breakfast, fruits and vegetables is considered to be an indicator of healthy eating habits. However, studies have shown that skipping breakfast, along with low consumption of fruits and vegetables combined with high consumption of soft drinks and sweets are common among adolescents (68,79). The eating habits of children and adolescents are of special concern since behaviours formed early in life are likely to persist into adulthood (80).…”

“…In families-especially among mothers-with low SES, less emphasis on, as well as limited exposure to, healthy eating habits and physical activity may be important risk factors for children to develop overweight and obesity (9,65,79). In addition, younger children spend more time with their parents, especially their mothers.…”

Pubertal height gain is inversely related to peak BMI in childhood

“…Briefly, the GrowUp 1990 cohort included 5,314 students, born around 1990; the present study used data from healthy individuals born at full term (gestational age, 37-42 wk) in Sweden, where information on longitudinal growth until adult height was available (12). Weight and height had been measured by experienced nurses at well-baby clinics and at schools in Gothenburg and surrounding municipalities.…”

“…As an indication of representativeness of the analytic sample, corresponding values for the entire sample of Nordic origin of the GrowUp 1990 -cohort at 18 y of age (n = 4,790) were: height SDS +0.05/+0.14, weight SDS + 0.09/+0.23, and BMI SDS +0.03/+ 0.18 for girls/boys, respectively (12).…”