The Diet-Lifestyle Index evaluating the quality of eating and lifestyle behaviours in relation to the prevalence of overweight/obesity in adolescents.

摘要

This study sought to develop an index that incorporated various dietary and lifestyle behaviours that are associated with overweight/obesity status in adolescents. Discrete scores were assigned for each component of the proposed index. The Diet-Lifestyle Index ranged from 11 to 57. The accuracy of the index was examined in relation to adolescents' body mass status using a sample of 2008 students. The mean score of the index was 30.9 +or- 5.2 for boys and 31.4 +or- 4.7 for girls. The index was inversely associated with the odds of being obese/overweight (odds ratio = 0.93, 95% confidence interval = 0.90-0.96), after adjusting for age and gender. Particularly, an 11/57-unit increase of the index was associated with a 6 and 9% decrease in the odds of being overweight/obese in boys and girls, respectively (P < 0.001). Thus, the proposed Diet-Lifestyle Index could be a useful tool in a primary healthcare setting for preventing obesity in adolescence.