Eating habits and behaviors, physical activity, nutritional and food safety knowledge and beliefs in an adolescent Italian population.
OBJECTIVE
The present study evaluates eating habits and behaviors, and nutritional and food safety knowledge of a group of Italian adolescents.


METHODS
A dietary questionnaire previously constructed and tested was self-administered during school time. Each section was evaluated using a separate score.


METHODS
The study was carried out as a part of a nutritional surveillance project in the Aosta Valley Region, Northern Italy.


METHODS
Five hundred and thirty-two adolescent subjects, aged 15.4 +/- 0.7 years, attending the second year of secondary schools participated in the study.


METHODS
We evaluated eating habits, physical activity, meaning of healthy and unhealthy dietary habits and food, self-efficacy, barriers affecting healthy food choices, nutritional and food safety, weight, height, Body Mass Index (BMI).


RESULTS
Only 37.0% of the sample have satisfactory eating habits; 18.5% have a very active lifestyle; only 8.6% have quite good nutritional knowledge, 2.4% have satisfactory food safety knowledge, although 43.7% have good hygiene practices.


CONCLUSIONS
The results point out unhealthy behaviors influencing adolescents' eating habits and suggest which of these must be considered in order to develop tailored nutrition interventions, improving adolescents' consciousness aimed at adopting a healthy lifestyle.
Turconi
Giovanna
G
Department of Applied Health Sciences, Section of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Pavia, Italy. gturconi@unipv.it
Guarcello
Marianna
M
Maccarini
Laura
L
Cignoli
Federica
F
Setti
Stefania
S
Bazzano
Rosella
R
Roggi
Carla
C
D000293:Adolescent; D017195:Adolescent Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D001294:Attitude to Health; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003257:Consumer Product Safety; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D020377:Self Efficacy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires