Clustering behaviours among 13-year-old Portuguese adolescents

Abstract

Aim: The aims of this study were to identify clustering of behaviours in young adolescents and to analyse differences in food intake according to clusters. Subject and methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out on adolescents’ behaviours comprising 2,160 adolescents aged 13 years attending schools of Porto, Portugal. We used data of 875 girls and 737 boys with complete information for all variables considered in the cluster definition (tobacco and alcohol use, sport activities, fruit intake, daily sleep hours). The average method was used to find the natural structure of clusters. Results: We identified three clusters: cluster 1 characterized by never smokers and never drinkers represented those with higher intake of fruits and lower intake of soft drinks. Cluster 2 comprised essentially tobacco and alcohol experimenters and was almost similar to cluster 1 regarding the other characteristics. Cluster 3 represented mostly regular smokers and drinkers, and those with the lowest daily sport activities, the lowest number of daily sleep hours, the lowest mean of fruit consumption and the highest intake of sweets and soft drinks. Conclusion: Our findings show that even in the early stages of adolescence there is a cluster of smoking, alcohol use and food intake, providing further evidence of the clustering of unhealthy behaviours

Characteristics associated with media use in early adolescence

“…These findings are consistent with the idea that adolescents who engage in a particular unhealthy behaviour may be more prone to engage in other unhealthy behaviours 30,31 . Although it was not evaluated in this study, evidence shows that individuals with a greater tendency for thrill seeking are more likely to consume television and computer games.…”

Early Initiation of Smoking and Alcohol Drinking as a Predictor of Lower Forearm Bone Mineral Density in Late Adolescence: A Cohort Study in Girls

“…In fact, there is substantial indication that smoking and drinking tend to cluster with a number of other unhealthy behaviors which may themselves have a relevant effect on bone health [23]. One possible explanation for the associations found in the present study is indeed that these behaviors are not causal exposures but markers of other adverse influences, such as poor nutrition or sedentarism.…”

Dietary patterns among 13-y-old Portuguese adolescents

“…Regarding the indicators of socioeconomic position, in Australian adolescents the healthy pattern was associated with higher maternal education [9] and in other populations unhealthier patterns were associated with lower socioeconomic status (SES) [26,29], as in our study higher parental education level decreased the odds of being in the fast food and sweets group. Previous studies conducted in our sample of adolescents also reported unhealthier food sources of nutrients intake among adolescents from lower SES families [10], and that unhealthier lifestyles tend to aggregate [35]. In our study, dietary intake was evaluated using an FFQ.…”