Weight management and fruit and vegetable intake among US high school students.
BACKGROUND
Consumption of fruits and vegetables is often recommended to promote healthy weight. The purpose of this study was to examine associations between fruit and vegetable intake and common weight management behaviors among US high school students who were trying to lose or stay the same weight.


METHODS
Data from the 1999, 2001, and 2003 national high school Youth Risk Behavior Surveys were combined and the analyses stratified by gender (females, N = 16,709; males, N = 10,521). We considered 3 common weight management strategies--being physically active (ie, moderate activity for 30 minutes on 5 or more days per week or vigorous activity for 20 minutes on 3 or more days per week), eating a reduced calorie or fat diet, and limiting TV viewing. Sufficient fruit and vegetable intake was defined as eating 5 or more servings per day. Odds ratios (ORs) were calculated using logistic regression.


RESULTS
Only 21.3% of females and 24.7% of males ate sufficient fruits and vegetables. Being physically active was associated with sufficient fruit and vegetable intake. Eating a reduced calorie or fat diet and limiting TV viewing (among males) were associated with sufficient fruit and vegetable intake only among physically active students. The odds of sufficient fruit and vegetable intake were greatest among female (OR = 3.01) and male (OR = 2.91) students who combined all 3 strategies (31.5% of females, 21.6% of males).


CONCLUSIONS
Interventions that promote fruit and vegetable intake within the context of healthy weight management may be more effective if they combine nutrition and physical activity strategies. Further research is needed to test this approach.
Lowry
Richard
R
Division of Adolescent and School Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Hwy, NE, Mailstop K-33, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA. rlowry@cdc.gov
Lee
Sarah M
SM
McKenna
Mary L
ML
Galuska
Deborah A
DA
Kann
Laura K
LK
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D015992:Body Mass Index; D031204:Caloric Restriction; D004032:Diet; D018752:Diet, Fat-Restricted; D005260:Female; D005638:Fruit; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology; D050177:Overweight / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D015995:Prevalence; D012574:Schools; D012737:Sex Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014675:Vegetables