Scientists have recently concluded that substance abuse (tobacco, alcohol and marijuana use) led to poor dietary practices amongst teens.
This conclusion was based on the results of a pilot study conducted in the St Paul/Minneapolis metropolitan area.
As a part of Team COOL (Controlling Overweight and Obesity for Life) pilot study 145 teens attending alternative schools in the above area were administered surveys.
This study was aimed at finding any significant association between substance abuse behaviours and dietary habits like consumption of high fat, sugar- sweetened beverages, fruits and vegetables.
This study was also an intervention project aimed at reducing childhood obesity.
As a part of this project six schools were selected.
All students were under the age of 18 and the average age was 17.
3 years.
They were administered a 76 item questionnaire where there were asked about information like dietary practices, consumption of alcohol, marijuana use and smoking.
The questionnaire also specifically asked for item like soda consumptions, fast food restaurant visits and fat intake.
This survey took about 40 minutes to complete.
At the end of this survey height and weight of each person was measured and they were handed out a $5 gift card for participation.
Roughly half the participants were male.
A large percentage of the respondents were minority (Race non white: Mean 62%, range 31% to 96 %).
This feature may have been because of the siting the study in an alternative school setting.
36% of them admitted to smoking tobacco daily.
The following associations were also found in this study.
Cigarette smoking was associated with an increased consumption of soda (p=0.
019), fat rich foods (p=0.
037), and incidence of fast food restaurant visits (p=0.
002).
Alcohol and marijuana were also associated with high fat intake.
No specific association was made between substance abuse and consumption of fruits and vegetables.
The conclusions of this study underscore an important message in preventive health.
Unhealthy dietary practices contribute to the adverse effects of substance abuse as they act as an independent factor in many diseases like atherosclerosis and cancer.
This therefore calls for comprehensive health promotive behaviours in the teen aged population.
Some suggested measures include restriction of sugary sodas and drinks in schools, regular lectures and demonstrations on health eating and lifestyle diseases and interaction with parents to incorporate these teachings in the family diet.
Since about 42% of school going teens admit to smoking marijuana this study has also shed light on the widespread prevalence of marijuana abuse.
You can access the original article published in BMC Public Health here.
This conclusion was based on the results of a pilot study conducted in the St Paul/Minneapolis metropolitan area.
As a part of Team COOL (Controlling Overweight and Obesity for Life) pilot study 145 teens attending alternative schools in the above area were administered surveys.
This study was aimed at finding any significant association between substance abuse behaviours and dietary habits like consumption of high fat, sugar- sweetened beverages, fruits and vegetables.
This study was also an intervention project aimed at reducing childhood obesity.
As a part of this project six schools were selected.
All students were under the age of 18 and the average age was 17.
3 years.
They were administered a 76 item questionnaire where there were asked about information like dietary practices, consumption of alcohol, marijuana use and smoking.
The questionnaire also specifically asked for item like soda consumptions, fast food restaurant visits and fat intake.
This survey took about 40 minutes to complete.
At the end of this survey height and weight of each person was measured and they were handed out a $5 gift card for participation.
Roughly half the participants were male.
A large percentage of the respondents were minority (Race non white: Mean 62%, range 31% to 96 %).
This feature may have been because of the siting the study in an alternative school setting.
36% of them admitted to smoking tobacco daily.
The following associations were also found in this study.
Cigarette smoking was associated with an increased consumption of soda (p=0.
019), fat rich foods (p=0.
037), and incidence of fast food restaurant visits (p=0.
002).
Alcohol and marijuana were also associated with high fat intake.
No specific association was made between substance abuse and consumption of fruits and vegetables.
The conclusions of this study underscore an important message in preventive health.
Unhealthy dietary practices contribute to the adverse effects of substance abuse as they act as an independent factor in many diseases like atherosclerosis and cancer.
This therefore calls for comprehensive health promotive behaviours in the teen aged population.
Some suggested measures include restriction of sugary sodas and drinks in schools, regular lectures and demonstrations on health eating and lifestyle diseases and interaction with parents to incorporate these teachings in the family diet.
Since about 42% of school going teens admit to smoking marijuana this study has also shed light on the widespread prevalence of marijuana abuse.
You can access the original article published in BMC Public Health here.
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