Prevalence and co-occurrence of unhealthy lifestyle habits and behaviours among secondary school students in Tuscany, central Italy

• Published in: Public health (London) 2019-01, Vol.166, p.89-98
• Main Authors: Millarini, V., Caini, S., Allamani, A., Ermini, I., Querci, A., Masala, G., Fabbri, S.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescents; Adults; Age; Age differences; Age Distribution; Alcohol; Alcohol Drinking - epidemiology; Alcoholic beverages; Analgesics; Beverages; Body weight; Chronic illnesses; Cigarette smoking; Cigarettes; Comorbidity; Drinks; Female; Females; Gender; Habits; Health initiatives; Health promotion; Humans; Illnesses; Italy - epidemiology; Life Style; Lifestyles; Male; Males; Obesity; Obesity - epidemiology; Overweight; Overweight - epidemiology; Physical activity; Poisson density functions; Prevalence; Public health; Schools; Secondary school students; Secondary schools; Self Report; Sex Distribution; Smoking; Smoking - epidemiology; Sports - psychology; Statistical analysis; Students; Students - psychology; Students - statistics & numerical data; Survey; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0033-3506; 1476-5616
• DOI: 10.1016/j.puhe.2018.10.008

Unhealthy habits acquired during adolescence may persist in adulthood and eventually increase the risk of chronic illnesses. We reported on a survey conducted in 2013–2015 among secondary school students in Tuscany, central Italy. We compared the prevalence of self-reported lifestyle characteristics and overweight/obesity between genders and age groups (14–16 vs 17–21 years). We partitioned each gender- and age-specific stratum into groups based on cigarette smoking and engagement in sport activities, and compared the prevalence of other unhealthy lifestyles across groups using Poisson regression. Overall, 2167 students (53.3% males, mean age 16.8 years) were included. Males were more frequently overweight/obese than females. Cigarette smoking increased with age and did not differ by gender. Males were more likely to engage in sport activities, drink alcoholic beverages and adopt other unhealthy lifestyle habits, whereas females reported a more frequent use of painkillers. Cigarette smoking was the single lifestyle characteristic most consistently associated with other unhealthy habits. The prevalence and patterns of co-occurrence of unhealthy lifestyle habits varied by gender and age group among secondary school students in Italy. Our findings should be taken into account when planning public health initiatives aiming to combat obesity and tackle unhealthy lifestyles among secondary school students in Italy. •We studied unhealthy behaviours among secondary school students in Tuscany, Italy.•Male adolescents were more likely to be overweight, drink alcohol and play more sports than female adolescents.•Female adolescents were more likely to report frequent use of painkillers.•Smoking was the lifestyle habit most often associated with other unhealthy behaviours.