Cent Eur J Public Health 2024, 32(Suppl):S96-103 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a7893

Eating behaviours and associated lifestyle factors in a sample of Slovak adolescents

Diana Vondrová1, Ľubica Argalášová1, Michael Weitzman2, Martin Samohýl1, Alexandra Filová1, Katarína Hirošová1, Jana Jurkovičová1, Kvetoslava Rimárová3, Erik Dorko3, Jana Babjaková1
1 Institute of Hygiene, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovak Republic
2 Department of Pediatrics, New York University School of Medicine, New York, United States of America
3 Department of Public Health and Hygiene, Faculty of Medicine, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, Košice, Slovak Republic

Objectives: An unhealthy lifestyle, inappropriate eating habits, and inadequate physical activity are the most common risk factors affecting health and causing the premature onset of non-communicable diseases. The study aimed to evaluate lifestyle factors, eating habits, and daily regimens in a sample of Slovak adolescents.

Methods: The sample involves 524 students aged 15-22 years attending selected secondary schools from the model region of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. We assessed the prevalence of selected lifestyle factors and investigated the relationship between negative lifestyle factors and the presence of overweight and obesity.

Results: We found eating irregularities including avoidance of school lunch, inadequate daily consumption of vegetables, dairy products and wholegrain foods, and the high consumption of sweets and sweetened beverages. The prevalence of excess weight and obesity in the sample was 18.4%. Compared to the non-obese, overweight or obese students had significantly lower daily consumption of vegetables and used to avoid sports more frequently. Almost 37% of students did not do sports at all. Students who were not doing sports on regular basis used to skip breakfast more frequently, they ate fewer vegetables and more sweets and spent considerable time in sedentary activities.

Conclusion: In the sample of secondary school students, we investigated several negative lifestyle factors and the relatively high prevalence of overweight and obesity. The results of the study can be used for the development of preventive measures to protect and promote the health of children and youth.

Keywords: adolescents, eating habits, daily activities, overweight, obesity

Received: May 24, 2023; Revised: May 19, 2024; Accepted: May 19, 2024; Published: December 31, 2024  Show citation

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Vondrová D, Argalášová Ľ, Weitzman M, Samohýl M, Filová A, Hirošová K, et al.. Eating behaviours and associated lifestyle factors in a sample of Slovak adolescents. Cent Eur J Public Health. 2024;32(Supplement):96-103. doi: 10.21101/cejph.a7893. PubMed PMID: 39832154.
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