Eating habits and total and abdominal fat in Spanish adolescents: Influence of physical activity. the AVENA study

Objective: To evaluate the association between specific dietary habits and body fatness in Spanish adolescents, and to analyze the role of leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) in this association. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 1,978 adolescents (1,017 girls) aged 13.018.5 years from the AVENA (Alimentación y Valoración del Estado Nutricional en Adolescentes) study were included. Particular dietary habits (breakfast, mid-morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner, and nighttime snack, as well as time spent eating, number of meals, consumption of soft drinks, and ready-to-eat foods) and LTPA were self-reported and analyzed as dichotomic variables (yes/no). The sum of six skinfold thicknesses and waist circumference (WC) values were the main body fatness variables. Result: Skinfolds and WC values were lower in adolescents who reported consumption of mid-morning snack, afternoon snack, more than four meals per day, and an adequate speed of eating, independently of participation in LTPA. Moreover, a beneficial influence of breakfast consumption on skinfolds and WC values was observed in those adolescent boys who did not participate in LTPA (p for interactions =.044 and.040, respectively). Conclusions: In Spanish adolescents, certain healthy dietary habits (i.e., mid-morning snack, afternoon snack, > 4 meals per day, adequate eating speed) are associated with lower body fatness, independently of engaging in LTPA. In addition, among boys with non-LTPA, those who skipped breakfast showed the highest body fatness values, indicating a beneficial influence of daily breakfast on body fat in this particular group. © 2012 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. All rights reserved.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Gómez Martínez, Sonia, Martínez Gómez, D., Pérez de Heredia, F., Romeo, J., Cuenca García, María Luisa, Martín-Matillas, Miguel, Castillo, Manuel J., Rey López, J. P., Vicente-Rodríguez, G., Moreno, Luis A., Marcos, Ascensión
Format:	artículo biblioteca
Language:	English
Published:	Elsevier 2012
Online Access:	http://hdl.handle.net/10261/81898
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