Obesogenic clusters: Multidimensional adolescent obesity-related behaviors in the U.S.

Janne Boone-Heinonen, Penny Gordon-Larsen, Linda S. Adair

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

96 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: Diet, physical activity, and psychosocial factors are independent and potentially interactive obesity determinants, but few studies have explored complex behavior patterns. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine obesity-related behavior patterning and identify high-risk adolescent groups. Methods: Cluster analysis identified groups with shared behavior patterns in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (1995 and 1996, ages 11-21; N=9,251). Descriptive and multivariate regression analyses compared sociodemographics and prevalent and incident obesity across clusters. Results: Seven and six clusters in males and females, respectively, represented behavior patterns such as School Clubs & Sports, Sedentary Behaviors, Dieters, and Junk Food & Low Activity. Sociodemographics varied across clusters. Compared to School Clubs & Sports clusters, adjusted odds of prevalent and incident obesity were higher for most clusters in females but not males. Conclusions: Cluster analysis identified several obesogenic behavior patterns, highlighting areas for future research and potential avenues for interventions that target broad lifestyle factors.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)217-230
Number of pages14
JournalAnnals of Behavioral Medicine
Volume36
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2008
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Adolescence
  • Behavior patterning
  • Diet
  • Obesity
  • Physical activity

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Psychology
  • Psychiatry and Mental health

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