Adolescent Overweight and Obesity: Links to Socioeconomic Status and Fruit and Vegetable Intakes
College of Nursing, Korea University, Anam-Dong, Seongbuk-Gu, Seoul 137-705, Korea
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Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editor: Maria M. Morales Suarez-Varela
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2016, 13(3), 307; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13030307
Received: 5 January 2016
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Revised: 20 February 2016
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Accepted: 1 March 2016
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Published: 9 March 2016
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Children, Adolescents and Nutrition)
Whether adolescent overweight/obesity is linked to socioeconomic status (SES) and fruit and vegetable (F/V) intakes has not been confirmed. We aimed to determine whether there is an association between SES and adolescent overweight/obesity and to test the mediating effect of F/V intakes. This cross-sectional study included the data of 63,111 adolescents extracted from the 2013 Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey. Overweight/obesity was defined as a body mass index ≥ 85th percentile, while F/V intakes were categorized as high (recommended levels: ≥1 fruit serving and ≥3 vegetable servings per day) versus low. Among girls, low SES (beta = 0.50, p < 0.001) and F/V intakes (beta = −0.17, p = 0.038) were both significantly associated with overweight/obesity; the former association was significantly mediated by F/V intakes (Sobel test: z = 2.00, p = 0.046). Among boys, neither SES nor F/V intakes was significantly associated with overweight/obesity. Adolescent overweight/obesity was significantly linked to low SES and F/V intakes among girls only; low SES indirectly increased the risk of overweight/obesity via low F/V intakes. Therefore, promoting F/V intakes for socially disadvantaged girls should be prioritized as a population-based strategy for preventing adolescent overweight/obesity in South Korea.
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Keywords:
social class; fruit and vegetable intake; adolescent; obesity; overweight
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MDPI and ACS Style
You, J.; Choo, J. Adolescent Overweight and Obesity: Links to Socioeconomic Status and Fruit and Vegetable Intakes. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2016, 13, 307. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13030307
AMA Style
You J, Choo J. Adolescent Overweight and Obesity: Links to Socioeconomic Status and Fruit and Vegetable Intakes. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2016; 13(3):307. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13030307
Chicago/Turabian StyleYou, Jihyun, and Jina Choo. 2016. "Adolescent Overweight and Obesity: Links to Socioeconomic Status and Fruit and Vegetable Intakes" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 13, no. 3: 307. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13030307
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