Adolescent overweight: Location of residence, demographics, dietary behaviors and physical activity

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among demographic factors, dietary behaviors, physical activity and body mass index (BMI) among rural adolescents. Unique factors of overweight among rural adolescents were delineated through comparisons with adolescents residing in urban and suburban areas. Methods. A secondary analysis of data was performed using the 2003 national school-based Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) to answer the following four research questions: (1) What is the relationship between location of residence (rural, suburban, and urban) and BMI percentile? (2) What is the relationship between dietary behaviors and BMI percentile among rural, suburban, and urban adolescents? (3) What is the relationship between physical activity and BMI percentile among rural, suburban, and urban adolescents? (4) What is the relationship between demographic factors and BMI percentile among rural, suburban, and urban adolescents?;Using the self reported height and weight in the YRBS database along with the age and gender of the subject, the BMI percentile by age and gender was calculated for each subject in the database. Specific questions were chosen and analyzed for demographic factors, dietary behaviors and physical activity. These questions were chosen by the appropriateness and relevance to each research question. Analysis of variance, two-way analysis of variance, and relevant post-hoc tests were calculated as appropriate for each research question to analyze the significant effects of the relevant variables and interactions.;Findings. This study explored whether there were statistically significant differences in the effects of dietary behaviors, physical activity and demographic factors on BMI among adolescents who reside in rural, suburban and urban areas. Overall, dietary behaviors played an important role in effecting adolescents' BMI percentiles. However, dietary behaviors did not have a significant effect on BMI percentiles when controlling for location of residence. Location of residence did not change the effect of physical activity on BMI percentile nor did it have a significant effect on BMI percentiles for urban, suburban, and rural adolescents. Several demographic factors had significant effects on adolescents' BMI percentiles, however, demographic factors did not have a significant effect on BMI percentiles when controlling for location of residence. (Abstract shortened by UMI.).