Agreement between parent and child report on parental practices regarding dietary, physical activity and sedentary behaviours: the ENERGY cross-sectional survey

Background Parents and their parenting practices play an important role in shaping their children’s environment and energy-balance related behaviours (EBRBs). Measurement of parenting practices can be parent- or child-informed, however not much is known about agreement between parent and child perspectives. This study aimed to assess agreement between parent and child reports on parental practices regarding EBRBs across different countries in Europe and to identify correlates of agreement. Methods Within the ENERGY-project, a cross-sectional survey was conducted among 10–12 year old children and their parents in eight European countries. Both children and parents filled in a questionnaire o…

Associations between home- and family-related factors and fruit juice and soft drink intake among 10- to 12-year old children. The ENERGY project.

The aim of this study is to investigate associations of family-related factors with children's fruit drink/juice and soft drink consumption. A cross-sectional survey among 10- to 12-year-old children and their parents in eight European countries was conducted to gather this data. Key variables of interest were children's self-reported fruit drink/juice and soft drink intake per day (outcome) and family-related factors (based on parents' report) related to these two behaviors (modeling, automaticity, availability, monitoring, permissiveness, negotiating, communicating health beliefs, avoid negative modeling, self-efficacy, rewarding, and family consumption). 7915 Children (52% girls; mean ag…

Weight control behaviors among overweight, normal weight and underweight adolescents in Palestine: findings from the national study of Palestinian schoolchildren (HBSC-WBG2004).

Objective: The objective of the study is to examine the relationship between weight-control behaviors and selfreported sociodemographic characteristics, weight status, and perception of body weight in a large, representative sample of adolescents in the West Bank and Gaza Strip territories of Palestine. Method: Self-report measures of sociodemographic characteristics, body weight perception, height and weight, and weight-control behaviors were completed by 8,885 male and female students aged 12–18 years from 405 randomly selected schools as part of the 2003/2004 Palestinian Health Behavior in School-aged Children Study (HBSC). Results: In both genders, dieting to lose weight was common amon…

Smoking trends among adolescents from 1990 to 2002 in ten European countries and Canada.

Abstract Background Daily smoking adolescents are a public health problem as they are more likely to become adult smokers and to develop smoking-related health problems later on in their lives. Methods The study is part of the four-yearly, cross-national Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study, a school-based survey on a nationally representative sample using a standardised methodology. Data of 4 survey periods are available (1990–2002). Gender-specific daily smoking trends among 14–15 year olds are examined using logistic regressions. Sex ratios are calculated for each survey period and country. Interaction effects between period and gender are examined. Results Daily smoking preval…

Micro-level economic factors and incentives in children's energy balance related behaviours: Findings from the ENERGY European cross-section questionnaire survey

Published version of an article from the journal: International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. Also available from BMC: http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1479-5868-9-136 Open Access Background To date, most research on obesogenic environments facing school children has focused on physical and socio-cultural environments. The role of economic factors has been investigated to a much lesser extent. Our objective was to explore the association of micro-level economic factors and incentives with sports activities and intake of soft drinks and fruit juice in 10-12 year-old school children across Europe, and to explore price sensitivity in children’s soft drink consumption and corr…

Direct and indirect associations between the family physical activity environment and sports participation among 10-12 year-old European children: testing the EnRG framework in the ENERGY project

Published version of an article in th journal: International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. Also available from the publisher at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1479-5868-10-15 Open access Background. Sport participation makes an important contribution to children’s overall physical activity. Understanding influences on sports participation is important and the family environment is considered key, however few studies hav explored the mechanisms by which the family environment influences children’s sport participation. The purpose of this study was to examine whether attitude, perceived behavioural control, health belief and enjoyment mediate associations between the fami…

European energy balance research to prevent excessive weight gain among youth (ENERGY) project: Design and methodology of the ENERGY cross-sectional survey

Published version of an article from: Bmc Public Health. Also available from the publisher: http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-11-65. Open Access Background: Obesity treatment is by large ineffective long term, and more emphasis on the prevention of excessive weight gain in childhood and adolescence is warranted. To inform energy balance related behaviour (EBRB) change interventions, insight in the potential personal, family and school environmental correlates of these behaviours is needed. Studies on such multilevel correlates of EBRB among schoolchildren in Europe are lacking. The ENERGY survey aims to (1) provide up-to-date prevalence rates of measured overweight, obesity, self-reported…

The role of family-related factors in the effects of the UP4FUN school-based family-focused intervention targeting screen time in 10- to 12-year-old children: the ENERGY project

Background Screen-related behaviours are highly prevalent in schoolchildren. Considering the adverse health effects and the relation of obesity and screen time in childhood, efforts to affect screen use in children are warranted. Parents have been identified as an important influence on children’s screen time and therefore should be involved in prevention programmes. The aim was to examine the mediating role of family-related factors on the effects of the school-based family-focused UP4FUN intervention aimed at screen time in 10- to 12-year-old European children (n child–parent dyads = 1940). Methods A randomised controlled trial was conducted to test the six-week UP4FUN intervention in 10-…

The UP4FUN intervention effect on overall sedentary time and breaking up sedentary time in Belgian children (10–12 years): The ENERGY-project

Introduction Within the ENERGY-project [1] , a school-based intervention to reduce and to break up sedentary time (UP4FUN) was developed for children aged 10 to 12 years. This study examined the UP4FUN intervention effect on objectively measured overall sedentary time and sedentary pattern variables among Belgian children. Sedentary pattern variables included number of breaks in sedentary time, number of sedentary bouts (≥ 10 minutes) and total and average amount of time spent in those sedentary bouts. Methods The six weeks intervention was tested in a randomized controlled trial with pre-test post-test design with five intervention and five control schools in Belgium. The total sample incl…

Evidence-based development of school-based and family-involved prevention of overweight across Europe: The ENERGY-project's design and conceptual framework

Background There is an urgent need for more carefully developed public health measures in order to curb the obesity epidemic among youth. The overall aim of the "EuropeaN Energy balance Research to prevent excessive weight Gain among Youth" (ENERGY)-project is the development and formative evaluation of a theory-informed and evidence-based multi-component school-based and family-involved intervention program ready to be implemented and evaluated for effectiveness across Europe. This program aims at promoting the adoption or continuation of health behaviors that contribute to a healthy energy balance among school-aged children. Earlier studies have indicated that school and family environmen…

Associations between family-related factors, breakfast consumption and BMI among 10- to 12-year-old European children: the cross-sectional ENERGY-study

Objective: To investigate associations of family-related factors with children's breakfast consumption and BMI-z-score and to examine whether children's breakfast consumption mediates associations between family-related factors and children's BMI-z-score. Subjects: Ten-to twelve-year-old children (n = 6374; mean age = 11.6 +/- 0.7 years, 53.2% girls, mean BMI-z-score = 0.4 +/- 1.2) and one of their parents (n = 6374; mean age = 41.4 +/- 5.3 years, 82.7% female, mean BMI = 24.5 +/- 4.2 kg/m(2)) were recruited from schools in eight European countries (Belgium, Greece, Hungary, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia, Spain, and Switzerland). The children self-reported their breakfast frequency per …

Associations between eating meals, watching TV while eating meals and weight status among children, ages 10–12 years in eight European countries: the ENERGY cross-sectional study

Background To assess the association of eating meals, and never watching TV while eating meals, with weight status among children, ages 10–12 years across Europe. Methods 7915 children (mean age: 11.5 years) in eight European countries (Belgium, Greece, Hungary, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia, Spain and Switzerland) completed a questionnaire at school. Data on meals eaten the day before questionnaire administration and the frequency of eating meals while watching TV were collected. Height and weight of the children were objectively assessed. Multinomial and binary regression analyses were conducted to test associations of eating meals (adjusted for gender and ethnicity) and never watchin…

The association of breakfast skipping and television viewing at breakfast with weight status among parents of 10-12-year-olds in eight European countries; the ENERGY (EuropeaN Energy balance Research to prevent excessive weight Gain among Youth) cross-sectional study.

AbstractObjectiveThe main objective was to assess the relationship of breakfast skipping, television (TV) viewing at breakfast and breakfast without TV with weight status among parents of 10–12-year-olds in eight European countries.DesignA cross-sectional survey assessed breakfast eating and TV viewing at breakfast by three frequency questions and parents were categorized into: (i) breakfast skippers; (ii) breakfast with TV (TV watchers at breakfast); and (iii) breakfast without TV (breakfast eaters who do not watch TV during breakfast). Self-reported weight and height were used to categorize weight status as underweight, normal weight, overweight and obese. Multinomial logistic regression …

Asthma and wheezing symptoms in young people in six Western countries.

Background Asthma diagnosed in children shows wide geographical variations. Large scale surveys identify children with diagnosed asthma, but neglect the group of youngsters with multiple asthmatic complaints. Methods A short validated asthma questionnaire was included in six national surveys of the Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children Study. Prevalence rates are presented by country, gender and age. Gender and age differences are analysed using binary and multinomial logistic regressions controlling for age and smoking. Results Large country differences are observed in the prevalence rates of diagnosed asthma (8.6%-20.9% in boys, 6.9%-18.5% in girls) and young people with “asthma-like s…

The effect of the UP4FUN pilot intervention on objectively measured sedentary time and physical activity in 10-to 12 year old children in Belgium : the ENERGY-project

Published version of an article in the journal: BMC Public Health. Also available from BMC: http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-12-805 Bakckground: The first aim was to examine the effect of the UP4FUN pilot intervention on children’s total sedentary time. The second aim was to investigate if the intervention had an effect on children’s physical activity (PA) level. Finally, we aimed to investigate demographic differences (i.e. age, gender, ethnicity, living status and having siblings) between children in the intervention group who improved in sedentary time and PA at post-test and children in the intervention group who worsened in sedentary time and PA at post-test. Methods: The six weeks …

Individual and family environmental correlates of television and computer time in 10- to 12-year-old European children: The ENERGY-project Energy balance-related behaviors

Background: The aim was to investigate which individual and family environmental factors are related to television and computer time separately in 10- to-12-year-old children within and across five European countries (Belgium, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Norway). Methods: Data were used from the ENERGY-project. Children and one of their parents completed a questionnaire, including questions on screen time behaviours and related individual and family environmental factors. Family environmental factors included social, political, economic and physical environmental factors. Complete data were obtained from 2022 child–parent dyads (53.8 % girls, mean child age 11.2 ± 0.8 years; mean parental age…

Associations between parental rules, style of communication and children's screen time

Background Research suggests an inverse association between parental rules and screen time in pre-adolescents, and that parents’ style of communication with their children is related to the children’s time spent watching TV. The aims of this study were to examine associations of parental rules and parental style of communication with children’s screen time and perceived excessive screen time in five European countries. Methods UP4FUN was a multi-centre, cluster randomised controlled trial with pre- and post-test measurements in each of five countries; Belgium, Germany, Greece, Hungary and Norway. Questionnaires were completed by the children at school and the parent questionnaire was brough…

Parents and friends both matter: simultaneous and interactive influences of parents and friends on European schoolchildren's energy balance-related behaviours - the ENERGY cross-sectional study

Published version of an article from the journal:International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. Also available from the publisher: http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1479-5868-11-82 Background: The family, and parents in particular, are considered the most important influencers regarding children’s energy-balance related behaviours (EBRBs). When children become older and gain more behavioural autonomy regarding different behaviours, the parental influences may become less important and peer influences may gain importance. Therefore the current study aims to investigate simultaneous and interactive associations of family rules, parent and friend norms and modelling with soft dri…

EuropeaN Energy balance Research to prevent excessive weight Gain among Youth (ENERGY) project: Design and methodology of the ENERGY cross-sectional survey

Abstract Background Obesity treatment is by large ineffective long term, and more emphasis on the prevention of excessive weight gain in childhood and adolescence is warranted. To inform energy balance related behaviour (EBRB) change interventions, insight in the potential personal, family and school environmental correlates of these behaviours is needed. Studies on such multilevel correlates of EBRB among schoolchildren in Europe are lacking. The ENERGY survey aims to (1) provide up-to-date prevalence rates of measured overweight, obesity, self-reported engagement in EBRBs, and objective accelerometer-based assessment of physical activity and sedentary behaviour and blood-sample biomarkers…

Additional file 1: of Individual and family environmental correlates of television and computer time in 10- to 12-year-old European children: the ENERGY-project

Bivariate associations between individual and family environmental factors and television or computer time per country. (DOCX 25 kb)

Body weight dissatisfaction and communication with parents among adolescents in 24 countries: international cross-sectional survey

Abstract Background Parents have significant influence on behaviors and perceptions surrounding eating, body image and weight in adolescents. The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of body weight dissatisfaction, difficulty in communication with the parents and the relationship between communication with parents and adolescents' dissatisfaction with their body weight (dieting or perceived need to diet). Methods Survey data were collected from adolescents in 24 countries and regions in Europe, Canada, and the USA who participated in the cross-sectional 2001/2002 Health Behaviour of School-Aged Children (HBSC) study. The association between communication with parents and body wei…

Associations between parental rules, style of communication and children's screen time Health behavior, health promotion and society

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UP4FUN : A school-based and family-involved intervention to reduce and break up sitting time among European 10-12 year olds – systematic development and formative evaluation

Differences in weight status and energy-balance related behaviours according to ethnic background among adolescents in seven countries in Europe: the ENERGY-project

Objective The aim of this study was to explore differences in weight status and energy balance behaviours according to ethnic background among adolescents across Europe. Methods A school-based survey among 10–12-year-old adolescents was conducted in seven European countries. Weight, height and waist circumference were measured; engagement in physical activity, sedentary and dietary behaviour, and sleep duration was assessed by child and parent-report. A distinction between native and non-native ethnic background was based on language spoken at home, and the parents' country of birth. Analyses were conducted with and without adjustment for parental education. Results With valid data on both …

Individual and family environmental correlates of television and computer time in 10-to 12-year-old European children: the ENERGY-project

Background The aim was to investigate which individual and family environmental factors are related to television and computer time separately in 10- to-12-year-old children within and across five European countries (Belgium, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Norway). Methods Data were used from the ENERGY-project. Children and one of their parents completed a questionnaire, including questions on screen time behaviours and related individual and family environmental factors. Family environmental factors included social, political, economic and physical environmental factors. Complete data were obtained from 2022 child–parent dyads (53.8 % girls, mean child age 11.2 ± 0.8 years; mean parental age 4…

Differences in beliefs and home environments regarding energy balance behaviors according to parental education and ethnicity among schoolchildren in Europe: The ENERGY cross sectional study

Background To explore differences in personal and home environmental factors that are regarded as determinants of energy balance-related behaviors (EBRBs) according to parental education and ethnic background among 10–12 year old schoolchildren across Europe. Methods A school-based survey among 10–12 year olds was conducted in eight countries across Europe. A range of personal and home environment variables relevant for soft drink consumption, daily breakfast, sport participation and TV time was assessed by means of child report. Personal factors included attitude, health beliefs, and preference/liking. Home environment factors included parental subjective norm, modeling, support, practices…

Differences in Weight Status and Energy-Balance Related Behaviors among Schoolchildren across Europe: The ENERGY-Project

Published version of an article published in the journal: PLoS ONE. Also available from the publisher at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0034742 Background: Current data on the prevalence of overweight and energy-balance behaviors among European children is necessary to inform overweight prevention interventions. Methodology/Principal Findings: A school-based survey among 10–12 year old children was conducted in seven European countries using a standardized protocol. Weight, height, and waist circumference were measured; Engagement in physical activity, sedentary and dietary behaviors, and sleep duration were self-reported. Descriptive analyses were conducted, looking at differences…

Body weight dissatisfaction and communication with parents among adolescents in 24 countries: international cross-sectional survey

BACKGROUND: Parents have significant influence on behaviors and perceptions surrounding eating, body image and weight in adolescents. The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of body weight dissatisfaction, difficulty in communication with the parents and the relationship between communication with parents and adolescents' dissatisfaction with their body weight (dieting or perceived need to diet). METHODS: Survey data were collected from adolescents in 24 countries and regions in Europe, Canada, and the USA who participated in the cross-sectional 2001/2002 Health Behaviour of School-Aged Children (HBSC) study. The association between communication with parents and body weight dis…