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Adolescence is a key period for consolidating heathy lifestyles and proper eating habits that can last into adulthood. To analyze the diet quality of Spanish adolescents and its association with socioeconomic factors and health behaviors by gender, a cross-sectional study was conducted using data from the DESKcohort project, consisting of a biannual panel survey on health, health behaviors, and associated determinants, collected in secondary education centers. The study population consisted of 7319 students aged 12 to 18 years. Data were collected from October 2019 to March 2020. The dependent variable was diet quality score according to the Spanish adaptation of the Healthy Eating Index (S-HEI). The independent variables included were socioeconomic factors and health behaviors. We conducted linear regression separately by gender. Diet quality score was significantly higher for girls than for boys (68 and 65, respectively, p < 0.001). For both genders, poorer diet quality was associated with a low level of physical activity [-0.9 (95% CI = -1.6:-0.2) in boys, -1.2 (95% CI = -1.9:-0.4) in girls], alcohol use [-2.5 (95% CI = -3.7:-1.3) in boys, -1.0 (95% CI = -1.9:0.0) in girls], poor self-perceived health [-1.1 (95% CI = -2.4:0.2) in boys, -3.5 (95% CI = -4.6:-2.4) in girls], and having attended Intermediate Level Training Cycles [-2.9 (95% CI = -4.3:-1.5) in boys, -1.9 (95% CI = -3.5:-0.3) in girls]. In girls, poorer diet quality also was associated with low mood [-1.1 (95% CI = -1.9:-0.3)]. The variance was 9% in boys and 12% in girls. Our results highlight the need to consider socioeconomic and health-related factors, as well as gender, when conducting interventions to promote healthy eating among adolescents.

The objective of the prospective cohort study (the DESKcohort project) is to describe and monitor health, health behaviors, and their related factors among 12 and 19-year-old adolescents schooled at centers of Compulsory Secondary Education or post-compulsory secondary education in Central Catalonia, considering social determinants of health. The DESKcohort survey is administered biannually between the months of October and June, and the project has been running for three years. We have interviewed 7319 and 9265 adolescents in the academic years 2019/20 and 2021/22, respectively. They responded a questionnaire created by a committee of experts, that included the following variables: sociodemographic factors, physical and mental health, food, physical activity, leisure and mobility, substance use, interpersonal relationships, sexuality, screen use and digital entertainment, and gambling. The results are presented to educational centers, county councils, municipalities, and health and third sector entities to plan, implement, and evaluate prevention and health promotion actions that address the identified needs., (Copyright © 2023 SESPAS. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Adolescence is a critical period in the consolidation of healthy lifestyles that can last into adulthood. To analyze changes in food consumption and eating behaviors in high-school adolescents during the first confinement, a cross-sectional study was conducted at the end of confinement in Spain. Changes in the frequency or quantity of consumption of different types of food and food-related behaviors were analyzed. Socioeconomic and health-related variables were also considered. To determine whether dietary changes were related to socioeconomic position (SEP), Poisson regression models with robust variance were estimated. Overall, there were some changes towards a healthier diet such as an increase in fruit consumption (38.9%) and a decrease in the consumption of soft drinks (49.8%), sweets and pastries (39.3%), and convenience foods (49.2%). Some changes, however, were related to less healthy behaviors, such as a more irregular pattern of meal distribution (39.9%) or an increase in snacking between meals (56.4%). Changes towards less healthy eating were also related to students' SEP. The risk of worsening the diet was found to be 21% higher in adolescents from a more disadvantaged SEP. Future public policies could be adapted to avoid increasing nutritional and health inequalities.

Aims: The aim of the present study was to estimate the evolution of binge drinking since the pre-pandemic period, and throughout the pandemic period with the application and lifting of the restrictions in adolescents aged 12 to 19 years old in school in Central Catalonia. Methodology: Quasi-experimental time series study with two samples of adolescents. The first sample (1st wave of survey, pre-pandemic period) was obtained between the months of September 2019 to March 2020 (n = 6621) and the second sample (2nd wave of survey, pandemic period) between the months of October 2021 and March 2022 (n = 7576). The dependent variable was monthly binge drinking. The main independent variable was the period of data collection (1st and 2nd wave), and gender and grade were also included. Twenty-one time slices were performed by fortnight and the binge drinking prevalence of the previous month was extracted in each of them. Interrupted time series analysis was performed and Poisson regression models with robust variance were estimated. Results: The data indicated a significant increase in the prevalence of binge drinking in certain periods in girls [easing of measures in October, aPR: 2.25 (1.03–4.89); and total lifting of restrictions in February, aPR: 3.29 (1.57–6.89)] and a reduction in consumption in periods of tightening of restrictions. After the upturn before the return to the pre-pandemic situation binge drinking followed a decreasing trend in both sexes [aPR boys: 0.73 (95%CI: 0.66–0.81); aPR girls: 0.78 (95%CI: 0.71–0.86)]. Conclusions: Periods of community interventions aimed at protecting people's health have had an impact on other health behaviors or aspects of health such as binge drinking, and differentially across groups and communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adolescence is a key period for consolidating heathy lifestyles and proper eating habits that can last into adulthood. To analyze the diet quality of Spanish adolescents and its association with socioeconomic factors and health behaviors by gender, a cross-sectional study was conducted using data from the DESKcohort project, consisting of a biannual panel survey on health, health behaviors, and associated determinants, collected in secondary education centers. The study population consisted of 7319 students aged 12 to 18 years. Data were collected from October 2019 to March 2020. The dependent variable was diet quality score according to the Spanish adaptation of the Healthy Eating Index (S-HEI). The independent variables included were socioeconomic factors and health behaviors. We conducted linear regression separately by gender. Diet quality score was significantly higher for girls than for boys (68 and 65, respectively, p < 0.001). For both genders, poorer diet quality was associated with a low level of physical activity [−0.9 (95% CI = −1.6:−0.2) in boys, −1.2 (95% CI = −1.9:−0.4) in girls], alcohol use [−2.5 (95% CI = −3.7:−1.3) in boys, −1.0 (95% CI = −1.9:0.0) in girls], poor self-perceived health [−1.1 (95% CI = −2.4:0.2) in boys, −3.5 (95% CI = −4.6:−2.4) in girls], and having attended Intermediate Level Training Cycles [−2.9 (95% CI = −4.3:−1.5) in boys, −1.9 (95% CI = −3.5:−0.3) in girls]. In girls, poorer diet quality also was associated with low mood [−1.1 (95% CI = −1.9:−0.3)]. The variance was 9% in boys and 12% in girls. Our results highlight the need to consider socioeconomic and health-related factors, as well as gender, when conducting interventions to promote healthy eating among adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]