title: Oral Health Behavior and Lifestyle Factors among Overweight and Non-Overweight Young Adults in Europe: A Cross-Sectional Questionnaire Study.
abstract: Being overweight is a risk factor for many chronic diseases including oral diseases. Our aim was to study the associations between oral health behavior, lifestyle factors and being overweight among young European adults, 2011-2012. The subjects constituted a representative sample of adult population aged 18-35 years from eight European countries participating in the Escarcel study. The participants completed a self-administered questionnaire on dietary habits, oral health behavior, smoking, exercise, height, and weight. Overweight was defined as body mass index (BMI) ≥ 25 kg/m² using the World Health Organization criteria. Mean BMI was 23.2 (SD 3.48) and 24.3% of the study population were overweight. Those who were overweight drank more soft drinks (p = 0.005) and energy drinks (p = 0.006) compared with those who were non-overweight. Brushing once a day (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.3-2.0), emergency treatment as the reason for last dental visit (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.3-1.9) and having seven or more eating or drinking occasions daily (OR 1.4; 95% CI 1.1-1.7) were statistically significantly associated with overweight. Associations were found between oral health behavior, lifestyle and overweight. A greater awareness of the detrimental lifestyle factors including inadequate oral health habits among overweight young adults is important for all healthcare providers, including oral health care professionals.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Dentistry, School of Medicines, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Eastern, P.O.B. 1627, 70211 Kuopio, Finland. annamari.nihtila@fimnet.fi.|Department of Public Health, Faculty of Dental Medicine, University of Lyon 1, Villeurbanne 69100, France. annamari.nihtila@fimnet.fi.
authors.forename: Annamari
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nihtila
authors.affiliation: School of Oral and Dental Science, Bristol Dental School &amp; Hospital, Bristol BS1 2LY, UK. n.x.west@bristol.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: West
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive, Restorative and Paediatric Dentistry, University of Bern, Bern 3012, Switzerland. adrian.lussi@zmk.unibe.ch.
authors.forename: Adrian
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lussi
authors.affiliation: Department of Periodontology, U.F.R. of Odontology, Paris 5-Descartes University, Paris 75006, France. phbouch@noos.fr.
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bouchard
authors.affiliation: Department of Sciences, University Sapienza, Roma 00185, Italy. Livia.Ottolenghi@uniroma1.it.
authors.forename: Livia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ottolenghi
authors.affiliation: Riga Institute, University of Riga, Riga 1007, Latvia. esenakol@latnet.lv.
authors.forename: Egita
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Senekola
authors.affiliation: Juan Carlos Llodra, Department of Public Health, Faculty of Dental Medicine, University of Granada, Granada 18010, Spain. jllodra@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Juan Carlos
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Llodra
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Faculty of Dental Medicine, University of Lyon 1, Villeurbanne 69100, France. stephane.viennot@univ-lyon1.fr.
authors.forename: Stephane
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Viennot
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Faculty of Dental Medicine, University of Lyon 1, Villeurbanne 69100, France. denis.bourgeois@univ-lyon1.fr.
authors.forename: Denis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bourgeois
keywords: dietary advice; energy drinks; oral health behavior; overweight; physical exercise; soft drinks; young adults