[The influence of parental healthy behaviors on healthy lifestyles of early adolescents].
BACKGROUND
Family behavior models may influence health promoting conducts among adolescents.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the association between health promoting behaviors among parents and healthy behaviors of early adolescents.


METHODS
Analysis of the baseline assessment of a longitudinal study of early adolescents in the city of San Felipe, Region of Valparaiso, Chile. Parents and their teenage children, attending 5th to 7th grade, from ten municipal schools, participated in this study. Self-reported questionnaires were used to assess healthy lifestyles, answered separately by parents and their children. Univariable and multivariable ordinal logistic regression analyses with complete data were carried out, using the students health promoting behaviors as dependent variables and the same behaviors among parents as the main predictors, controlling for other personal and family variables.


RESULTS
We contacted 1,035 parents and 682 consented to participate along with 560 students. The mean age of adolescents was 11.5 ± 1.2 years (49% females) The mean age of parents was 39.8 ± 8.8 years and 90% were women. The parental behaviors associated with teenage health promoting behaviors were eating vegetables (odds ratio (OR) = 1.22, p < 0.05), having breakfast (OR = 1.27, p < 0.05), do stretching exercises every day (OR = 1.19, p < 0.05) and take some time for relaxation (OR = 1.24, p < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
These results show an association between healthy behaviors among parents and these behaviors among their adolescent offspring.
Departamento de Salud Pública y Epidemiología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de los Andes, Santiago, Chile.
Jorge
J
Gaete
Facultad de Educación, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
Cristian A
CA
Rojas-Barahona
Escuela de Enfermería, Universidad de Valparaíso, San Felipe, Chile.
Esterbina
E
Olivares
School of Nursing, Chang Gung University of Science and Technology, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
Mei-Yen
MY
Chen
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D002677:Chile; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006293:Health Promotion; D000070497:Healthy Lifestyle; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*