Background: Individual health behaviors (ie, eating habits and sedentary lifestyle) are associated with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Health behavior profiles specific to adolescents with T2D have not been described.Objective: To identify health behavior profiles in adolescents with T2D and examine how these profiles change over time.Methods: Diet (via food frequency questionnaire) and activity behaviors (via 3-day physical activity recall) examined at baseline, 6 months, and 24 months from participants in the the Treatment Options for T2D in Adolescents and Youth (TODAY) study were used for this analysis. Latent profile analysis identified profiles of health behaviors within three time points, and latent transition probabilities were estimated to examine the change from baseline to 6 months (n = 450) and baseline to 24 months (n = 415). Multinomial logistic regressions were used to examine if the assigned TODAY treatment group (Metformin [Met], Met + Rosiglitazone [Rosi], or Met + Lifestyle) predicted change in health behavior profiles.Results: Three profiles emerged: "most sedentary," "healthy eaters," and "active and eat most." At 6 months, 50% of males and 29% of females in the Met + Lifestyle treatment group improved in their health behavior profile. Among males only, the Met + Lifestyle treatment group were more likely to improve their profiles from baseline to 6 months (P = .01).Conclusions: Three health behavior profiles emerged and shifted over time. A high quality, lifestyle intervention had little effect on improving health behavior profiles.Optimizing outcomes in youth with T2D might require more robust and multifaceted interventions beyond family-level lifestyle, including more extensive psychosocial intervention, novel medication regimen, or bariatric surgery.
K E Y W O R D Sadolescence, health behaviors, obesity, profiles, type 2 diabetesThe details of the TODAY study have been previously published. 14,15 The main objective of the original study was to examine the relative efficacy of three treatments: (a) Metformin (Met), (b) Met +
Rosiglitazone (Rosi), and (c) Met + Lifestyle. Standard education wasgiven to all groups. The TODAY lifestyle program (TLP) was a familybased behavioral lifestyle change intervention that targeted weight loss. 16 TLP was developed to give the adolescents with T2D and their families intensive, ongoing support, and training in the behavioral skills needed for weight loss and maintenance. Each family was assigned a Personal Activity and Nutrition Leader (PAL) who met with the family weekly for the first 6 to 8 months, every other week through 12 to 16 months, and then monthly to 24 to 28 months postenrollment.The first 6 to 8 months included behavioral change targets to promote weight loss, including increasing PA and an individual calorie intake goal. PALs focused on teaching the families behavioral skills (eg, selfmonitoring, goal-setting, and problem-solving). In the next phase of the TLP, lifestyle maintenance was the focus of the intervention and the behavioral targets were ...