The relationship between lifestyle habits and body weight of Klaipėda region students with social and economic family factors

Public Health (Public Health & Nutrition) THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LIFESTYLE HABITS AND BODY WEIGHT OF KLAIPĖDA REGION STUDENTS WITH SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC FAMILY FACTORS Greta Oklinskaitė Head of Science Doc. Monika Grincaitė Lithuanian University of Health Sciences , Faculty of Public Health, Department of Preventive Medicine. Kaunas; 2019. 64 p. Aim. To evaluate Klaipeda region 11, 13 and 15 year old students lifestyles, habits, body weight, and their relationship to social and economic factors in the family. Objectives. To evaluate the social and economic situation of 11, 13 and 15 year old students’ families in Klaipeda region; to evaluate lifestyle habits and body weight of 11, 13 and 15 year old students of Klaipeda region; to determine the relationship between the lifestyle habits of the students and the weight of the body with social and economic factors of the family. Method. The study was conducted using an international school-age childhood lifestyle and health survey (HBSC) questionnaire. 471 students (182 - 5, 177 - 7 and 112 - 9) of the seven random schools in Klaipeda region were included in the survey. Nutrition, physical activity and harmful habits of students were assessed. Physical development groups were determined according to their body weight and height indicated by the students/pupils. The wealth of the family was measured by the FAS scale. Statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics (version 20.0). Links between students’ lifestyle habits and body weight with socio-economic factors have been assessed using multi-dimensional logistic regression analysis. Results. The majority of the parents of the Klaipėda region students were working. More than half (61.3%) of students lived in families with moderate wealth. The students’ diet was not healthy enough. Girls (84.7%) more often than boys (73.3%) had breakfast on weekends, and boys (50.4%) more often than girls (35.8%) drank sweet carbonated drinks. With age, the eating habits of students’ deteriorated. Girls were more lean (14.7%), more boys (21.5%) than girls were overweight. Boys were more physically active than girls. Boys and older students more often smoked cigarettes, electronic cigarettes, and cannabis. Boys (28.1%) were smoking cigarettes more than girls (19.6%) during their lifetime. Fifteen-year-olds (15.6%) and boys (14.9%) are more likely to smoke electronic cigarettes in the last 30 days than younger pupils and girls. In the last 30 days, boys (18,2%) have smoked cannabis at least one day or more while girls did it less (5,5%). Student‘s eating habits were related to their family‘s economic situation. Students from wealthy families had better opportunities to eat fruit and vegetables each day on weekdays and to eat sweets. The prevalence of harmful habits among schoolchildren did not depend on the social and economic situation of the family, but it was noticed that those students whose dad had a job were less likely to smoke. Conclusions. More than half of the students in the Klaipėda region who participated in the study lived in moderately wealthy families. The students' diet was only partially in line with the recommendations of a healthy diet. Boys were more physically active than girls. Older students and boys smoked cigarettes, electronic cigarettes and cannabis more often. Student‘s eating habits were related to their family‘s economic situation