Abstract
Purpose: This article examines the relationship between family functioning (e.g., communication, closeness, problem solving, behavioral control) and adolescent weight status and relevant eating and physical activity behaviors. Methods: Data are from EAT 2010 (Eating and Activity in Teens), a population-based study that assessed eating and activity among socioeconomically and racially/ethnically diverse youths (n = 2,793). Adolescents (46.8% boys, 53.2% girls) completed anthropometric assessments and surveys at school between 2009 and 2010. Multiple linear regression was used to test the relationship between family functioning and adolescent weight, dietary intake, family meal patterns, and physical activity. Additional regression models were fit to test for interactions by race/ethnicity. Results: For adolescent girls, higher family functioning was associated with lower body mass index z score and percent overweight, less sedentary behavior, higher intake of fruits and vegetables, and more frequent family meals and breakfast consumption. For adolescent boys, higher family functioning was associated with more physical activity, less sedentary behavior, less fast-food consumption, and more frequent family meals and breakfast consumption. There was one significant interaction by race/ethnicity for family meals; the association between higher family functioning and more frequent family meals was stronger for nonwhite boys compared with white boys. Overall, strengths of associations tended to be small, with effect sizes ranging from -.07 to.31 for statistically significant associations. Conclusions: Findings suggest that family functioning may be protective for adolescent weight and weight-related health behaviors across all race/ethnicities, although assumptions regarding family functioning in the homes of overweight children should be avoided, given small effect sizes.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 351-357 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Journal of Adolescent Health |
| Volume | 52 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Mar 2013 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Research is supported by grant number R01 HL093247 from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (PI: D.N.-S.). Dr Berge's time is supported by a grant from Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health (BIRCWH) grant number K12HD055887 from the National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development , administered by the Deborah E. Powell Center for Women's Health at the University of Minnesota. Dr Wall is supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health ( U01-HD061940 ). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the National Cancer Institute, or the National Institutes of Health.
Keywords
- Adolescents
- Dietary intake
- Family functioning
- Family meals
- Obesity
- Physical activity
