The Relationship between Smoking and Unhealthy Weight Control Behaviors among Korean Adolescents: The Tenth Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-Based Survey, 2014

Abstract

BackgroundAdolescent smoking is positively related to weight control attempts, especially by unhealthy methods. The co-occurrence of smoking and unhealthy weight control behaviors may cause serious health problems in adolescents. This study examined the relationship of smoking with unhealthy weight control behaviors among Korean adolescents.MethodsThis cross-sectional study involved 31,090 students of grades 7 to 12, who had tried to reduce or maintain their weight during the 30 days prior to The Tenth Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey, 2014. Data on height, weight, weight control methods, smoking, alcohol intake, living with one's family, and perceived economic status were obtained through self-report questionnaires. ‘Unhealthy weight control behaviors’ were subcategorized into ‘extreme weight control behaviors’ and ‘less extreme weight control behaviors.’ResultsThe smoking rates were 13.3%±0.4% in boys and 3.8%±0.2% in girls. Current smokers were more likely to engage in extreme weight control behaviors (odds ratio [OR], 1.47; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.09 to 2.00 in boys, and OR, 2.05; 95% CI, 1.59 to 2.65 in girls) and less extreme weight control behaviors (OR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.07 to 1.40 in boys, and OR, 1.47; 95% CI, 1.22 to 1.76 in girls) compared to non-smokers among both boys and girls.ConclusionCurrent smoking is independently related to a high likelihood of engaging in unhealthy weight control behaviors among Korean adolescents. This relationship is stronger for girls than for boys. Extreme weight control behaviors have a stronger relationship with current smoking than less extreme weight control behaviors.

The Effect of Smoking on Adolescents’ Appetite for the Age (13-18) and its Relationship to Some Variables

“…We note in the same table that the teenager's ranking in his family and the number of individuals of the family occupied the eighth and ninth positions, and their percentage was 5.5% and 4.5%, respectively, according to the opinion of the members of the research sample. We conclude from this that children (adolescents suffer from the enormous number of family members), among the children of a family in which the number of members exceeds 9, 51% of its children will be a smoker persons, and this percentage decreases as the number of family members decreases (10) .…”

“…As for the influence of the media, the rate was 7%. The media is considered a wide field for a daily confrontation between education and food awareness programs and commercial advertisements aimed at promoting food and non-food commodities, especially cigarettes (9) , a teenager who watches TV for several hours a day is exposed to a large group of commercial advertisements that mainly focus on encouraging the consumption of a wide variety of cigarettes (10) . As for escaping from reality, it ranked seventh and obtained a rate of 6.8% by the research sample.…”

Latent Class Analysis of Obesogenic Behaviors among Korean Adolescents: Associations with Weight-Related Outcomes

“…According to the problem behavior theory, health risk behaviors in adolescence co-occur and co-vary owing to common determinants [ 58 ]. Both UWCB and substance use are associated with impulsivity-like traits [ 59 , 60 ]. Substance users are more likely to participate in UWCB requiring relative little effort for rapid weight control, despite the detrimental consequences of UWCB [ 59 ].…”

“…Both UWCB and substance use are associated with impulsivity-like traits [ 59 , 60 ]. Substance users are more likely to participate in UWCB requiring relative little effort for rapid weight control, despite the detrimental consequences of UWCB [ 59 ].…”

Associations between History of Hospitalization for Violence Victimization and Substance-Use Patterns among Adolescents: A 2017 Korean National Representative Survey

“…According to the 2017 Korea Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 40.2% of adolescents in Korea have previously consumed alcohol, while similar use of tobacco, electronic cigarettes (ECs), and drugs is 13.7%, 7.4%, and 0.6%, respectively [ 13 ]. In addition, the prevalence of non-prescribed diet pill use ranges from 1.8 to 5.8%, which is another matter of great public health concern in Korea, due to adolescents’ unhealthy weight control behaviors [ 14 ]. These statistics suggest that the health risks that can arise from violence victimization and substance use can be a burden to public health.…”