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…

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-…

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 …

The school nutrition environment and its association with soft drink intakes in seven countries across Europe - the ENERGY project

The school is an important setting for promoting healthy eating especially at the transition from childhood to adolescence. This study contributes to the literature by describing practices within physical, political and sociocultural aspects of the school nutrition environment in seven countries across Europe based on questionnaires to the school management, and exploring their associations with soft drink consumption reported on questionnaires by 10-12 year olds. Several of the commonly self-reported practices could be supportive of a healthy diet (time to eat, access to water, restriction on marketing), but some practices were underutilized (i.e. discussion with stakeholders, healthy food…

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…

Changes in 10-12 year old's fruit and vegetable intake in Norway from 2001 to 2008 in relation to gender and socioeconomic status - a comparison of two cross-sectional groups

Published version of an article in the journal: International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. Also available from the publisher BMC: http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1479-5868-8-108. Open Access BACKGROUND:Norwegian children and adolescents eat less than half of the recommended 5 portions of fruit and vegetables (FV) per day. Gender and socioeconomic disparities in FV consumption shows that boys and children of lower socioeconomic status (SES) eat less FV than girls and high SES children. We also know that accessibility and preferences has been identified as two important determinants of FV intake. The objectives of this study were to compare FV intake among Norwegian 6th an…

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 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…