Peer Effects on Weight Status, Dietary Behaviour and Physical Activity among Adolescents in Europe: Findings from the I.Family Study

Abstract

Summary This study uses survey data from the I.Family Study to investigate the association between adolescent and peer overweight in a sample of adolescents aged 12–16 from six European countries. We find clear evidence of peer effects on body mass index, waist circumference, and body fat, which are stronger among adolescents at the upper end of overweight distribution. We also provide evidence that both consumption of less healthy foods and time spent in leisure time physical activity and audio‐visual media are positively associated with similar behaviours among friends. These observations may suggest that peer effects on adolescent overweight operate by influencing friends’ behaviour patterns, especially unhealthy food consumption and physical (in)activity.

Gender differences in the longitudinal association between multilevel latent classes of chronic disease risk behaviours and body mass index in adolescents

“…TV viewing, video games). 37 Consistent with earlier research, 5,6 our analyses indicate that there are annual increases in BMI across genders but that the predictors of the annual increase differ. Physical activity and substance use are not likely predictors of increasing BMI in females.…”

“…39 Furthermore, peer effects are reportedly associated with differences in diet, exercise and BMI. 37,40 Recent findings from Europe also suggest that active experimenters likely have experimenter friends who tend to be We found that about one-quarter of youth transition to a "healthier" weight: 28.1% of youth with overweight/obesity in Wave 1 transitioned to a normal weight in Wave 2 and 27.3% of youth with overweight/ obesity in Wave 2 transitioned to a normal weight in Wave 3. Similar findings were reported from Spain, where 26% of youth classified as obese transitioned to overweight status.…”

“…Low physical activity does not occur in isolation; it is usually associated with poor dietary intake and sedentary behaviour, and how research is conducted should reflect that. [34][35][36][37] The problem behaviour theory (1977) explains that youth who engage in one problem behaviour are at a higher risk of other problem behaviours due to the shared meanings and the social influences surrounding the behaviours. 38 Research indicates that behaviour change (positive or negative) is more effective when the behaviours are addressed simultaneously rather than each in isolation.…”

Is Adolescents’ Food Intake Associated with Exposure to the Food Intake of Their Mothers and Best Friends?

“…Studies that have solely assessed the role of friends, generally revealed that similarities among friends are often found for foods typically consumed in peer contexts [25]. Given that these foods are usually unhealthy in nature (e.g., SSBs or snacks) [26,27] and are obtained from outside the home (e.g., at the school canteen, at the snack bar, or at the supermarket) [28], adolescents' intake is expected to be more similar to their best friends' food intake when considering unhealthy food obtained from outside the home. The few studies that have addressed the role of parents and friends simultaneously, showed positive associations between adolescents', parents', and friends' intake of SSBs [27] and found that adolescents' fruit and vegetables intake was positively related to their parents', but not to their friends' intake [29].…”

Like me, like you – relative importance of peers and siblings on children’s fast food consumption and screen time but not sports club participation depends on age

“…Family members are more alike in the intake of healthy In model 1e the age difference between the sibling is ≤2.7 years. In model 1f the age difference between siblings is > 2.7 years than unhealthy foods [3], while the opposite is true for friends [37], and friends tend to be particularly similar for snack and fast food consumption [13][14][15][16]38]. With increasing age, children might become more susceptible to peer pressures and peer social norms shaping their dietary and physical activity behavior.…”