Health behaviour profiles in young Australian adults in relation to physical and mental health: The Raine Study

• Published in: Health promotion journal of Australia 2024-10, Vol.35 (4), p.1010-1021
• Main Authors: Thøgersen‐Ntoumani, Cecilie, Gucciardi, Daniel F., McVeigh, Joanne A., O'Sullivan, Therese A., Dontje, Manon, Stamatakis, Emmanuel, Eastwood, Peter R., Straker, Leon
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: accelerometry; Adipose tissue; Adult; Adults; Alcohol; Alcohol Drinking - epidemiology; Alcohol Drinking - psychology; Australia; Behavior; Biological markers; Biomarkers; Blood pressure; Clinical outcomes; Conduct of life; Demography; Diet; Drinking behavior; Drinks; Eating; Eating behavior; Evaluation; Exercise; Feeding Behavior - psychology; Female; Food; Food consumption; Habits; Health Behavior; Health Status; Healthy food; Humans; Insulin; Insulin resistance; Intervention; Latent Profile Analysis; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Measurement; Mental disorders; Mental health; Mental Health - statistics & numerical data; Physical activity; Physical fitness; Physiological aspects; Physiological effect; Profiles; Questionnaires; Resistance; Sedentary; Sedentary Behavior; Sex; Sleep; Smoking; Smoking - epidemiology; Social aspects; Surveys and Questionnaires; Takeaway food; Testing; Young Adult; Young adults
• ISSN: 1036-1073; 2201-1617
• DOI: 10.1002/hpja.828

Issues Addressed: We aimed to identify latent health behaviour profiles of young adults and examine their associations with physical and mental health outcomes. We also characterised the profiles by socio-demographic characteristics. Methods: Data were collected between 2012 and 2014. Participants (N equivalent 476) were young adults (M age [SD] equivalent 22.1 [.57] years) from Generation 2 of the Raine Study longitudinal cohort. Health behaviours were measured via ActiGraph GT3X waist monitors (physical activity, sedentary behaviour) and questionnaires (diet quality, alcohol, smoking and sleep). Physical and mental health were measured using clinical health assessments, blood biomarkers, and questionnaires. Latent Profile Analysis using Mplus (8.2) was employed to identify profiles. Results: Four latent profiles were identified: 'heavy drinkers with moderately unhealthy eating habits' (high takeaway foods; n equivalent 135), 'unhealthy food abstainers' (low takeaway foods; n equivalent 138), 'moderately sedentary alcohol abstainers' (n equivalent 139) and 'physically active drinkers with unhealthy eating habits' (high takeaway foods and sugary drinks; n equivalent 64). 'Physically active drinkers with unhealthy eating habits' had the poorest (physical and mental) health outcomes, yet the lowest insulin resistance. 'Unhealthy food abstainers' had the most favourable health outcomes (adiposity, health perceptions, blood pressure). Sex differed among the profiles. Conclusions: The profiles identified among young adults are different to profiles with general adult populations. A novel finding was that 'physically active drinkers with unhealthy eating habits' had low insulin resistance. The findings also suggest that future interventions May need to be sex specific. So What: Our findings suggest that health behaviour interventions for young adults should be targeted to distinct profile characteristics.