Associations between obesity, adverse behavioral patterns and cardiovascular risk factors among adolescent inhabitants of a Greek island.
BACKGROUND
Excess weight, unhealthy lifestyle habits and their sequelae have become a well-recognized public health problem in most countries. The objective of the study was to examine the relationship of adolescent overweight/obesity with behavioral habits and their association with blood pressure (BP) and lipid profile.


METHODS
Anthropometric parameters, lifestyle, BP and lipid profile of 736 adolescents were evaluated cross-sectionally. The classifications of normal weight, overweight and obese were based on BMI z-scores.


RESULTS
About 42.1% of adolescents were overweight/obese, 11.3% were smokers, 33.2% consumed alcohol and 34% reported low activity. Males began smoking earlier, consumed alcohol more often, exercised less and spent more screen time than females. Alcohol consumption was more prevalent among smokers and was associated with higher BP and dyslipidemia. Smokers exercised less intensely and had lower high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) than non-smokers. Obesity was a risk factor for higher BP and dyslipidemia. Longer screen time was associated with higher triglycerides, while intense physical activity with lower systolic BP.


CONCLUSIONS
Obesity is related to an adverse lipid and BP profile during adolescence. Clustering of hazardous habits was observed, which is known to aggravate the cardiovascular risk.
Second Department of Pediatrics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, "P. & A. Kyriakou" Children's Hospital, Athens.
Anastasia
A
Garoufi
Second Department of Pediatrics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, "P. & A. Kyriakou" Children's Hospital, Athens.
Evangelos E
EE
Grammatikos
Hypertension Center STRIDE-7, Third University Department of Medicine, Sotiria Hospital, Athens.
Anastasios
A
Kollias
Health Center of Karlovasi, Samos.
Emmanuel
E
Grammatikos
Hypertension Center STRIDE-7, Third University Department of Medicine, Sotiria Hospital, Athens.
George S
GS
Stergiou
Second Department of Pediatrics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, "P. & A. Kyriakou" Children's Hospital, Athens.
Alexandra
A
Soldatou
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D001794:Blood Pressure; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006115:Greece / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D050356:Lipid Metabolism; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology*; D011379:Prognosis; D012307:Risk Factors
alcohol consumption; cigarette smoking; lipid profile; physical activity; unhealthy habits