Subjective Health, Physical Activity, Body Image and School Wellbeing among Adolescents in South of Sweden

Sports Practice, Body Image Perception, and Factors Involved in Sporting Activity in Italian Schoolchildren

Regular physical activity is generally deemed to positively affect health, but studies on children are scarce. Among the kinds of physical activity, sports practice is the most common and easiest to quantify and report by children. This cross-sectional study aimed to compare the two genders and evaluate the association between organized sports practice and body dissatisfaction in a sample of 214 Italian schoolchildren (55.6% males) aged 5 to 12. Body image perception and data on sports practice expectations and facilitators were collected in individual face-to-face interviews; weight and stature were directly measured. Girls tended to be sportier than boys (91.6% of girls vs. 86.3% of boys practiced sports), with an earlier start in sports (5.48 ± 1.47 vs. 5.72 ± 1.38 years) and a greater amount of weekly sports (3.41 ± 2.95 vs. 3.01 ± 2.11 h/week). In both genders, the ideal silhouette was more slender than the feel silhouette, and in girls more than in boys. According to the outcomes of multiple regression models, years of organized sports participation were a significant predictor of the weekly amount of sports in both genders, in addition to the feel weight status minus actual weight status inconsistency score, fun in sports, and parental support only in boys and teacher support only in girls. Children's needs and interests and sports facilitators should be considered to promote an early active lifestyle.

Factors Affecting High-Risk for Diabetes among Korean Adolescents: An Analysis Using the Eighth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2020)

The purpose of this study was to identify significant factors affecting diabetes and pre-diabetes in South Korean adolescents, including adolescents’ and parental factors. We used data on 416 Korean adolescents aged 12–18 years and their parents (302 fathers and 375 mothers) from the eighth National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey gained in 2020. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, t-test, Rao–Scott χ² test, and univariate logistic regression using complex sample analysis. Among the participants, 101 adolescents (22.7%) were classified as the high-risk group for diabetes. Significant factors affecting the risk for adolescent diabetes in both sexes were higher BMI, fasting plasma glucose, hemoglobin A1c, and insulin. The father’s high degree of stress perception was only related to male adolescents, and the father’s poor subjective health status was related to females at risk for diabetes. In mothers, physician-diagnosed diabetes, fasting plasma glucose, and hemoglobin A1c were factors affecting both sexes. Results from this study can be used as preliminary data for the early detection of high-risk groups for diabetes in adolescents, and for the development of systematic health care guidelines to prevent diabetes in adolescents.

Physical Activity Levels, Perceived Body Appearance, and Body Functioning in Relation to Perceived Wellbeing Among Adolescents

This study aimed to investigate self-reported physical activity levels, perceived body appearance, and body functioning in relation to perceived wellbeing among adolescents. A cross-sectional survey was performed in four upper secondary schools in one municipality in southern Sweden. Data were obtained from questionnaires completed by 1,491 adolescents (55.4% females; median age 16; range 15–17 years) during school hours. The participation rate was 71.4%. Logistic regression analyses were carried out with wellbeing as the dependent variable. The independent variables included gender, perceived family financial situation, perceived body appearance, perceived body function, and physical activity level. Perceived positive wellbeing was associated with being satisfied with their body's appearance (OR 3.4; CI 2.6–4.4) and function (OR 3.1; CI 2.2–4.2), being physically active three or more times per week (OR 1.5; CI 1.1–2.0), and a good perceived family financial situation (OR 3.3; CI 1.6–6.7). Gender was not significantly associated with wellbeing. A positive body image, which include both body appearance and body function, and high physical activity levels were significantly associated with wellbeing in adolescents, corroborating the importance of promoting physical activity among younger populations.