Investigation of the relationship between substance abuse, smoking, alcohol drinking and attempted suicide in children and adolescents

Alcohol drinking among young people is a major global public health concern. The situation has been aggravated further by the advent of the internet and subsequent development of social media as a tool for online alcohol marketing. Measures that aim at reducing substance abuse is a stride towards “2030 Agenda” for sustainable development goal number 3 set by the United Nation General Assembly. In this goal, attention is not only drawn to health and wellbeing but also to prevention and treatment of substance abuse. This descriptive study sought to find out the prevalence of alcohol advertisements on social media and its possible influence on alcohol drinking among Kenya’s higher vocational college students. Based on a field survey conducted in Nairobi (n=209), this study established that there was heavy presence of alcohol advertisements on social media scene in Kenya. Although statistically, there was huge gender disparity, the final results showed that there was significant association between alcohol ads on social media and college student’s possible alcohol drinking habits. This study concludes that there was heavy presence of alcohol ads on social media, and the likelihood of youth having unrestricted access to the alcoholic beverage products. This could have a far-reaching implication on their alcohol drinking habits. Therefore, the study recommends the stakeholders in public health promotions to formulate policies aimed at mitigating against the challenges posed by unrestricted access to online alcohol ads by the youth in order to prevent them from being lured into early alcohol drinking by the alcoholic beverage makers.　 Keywords: Alcohol abuse; Influence; Online ads; Youth; Kenya

Download Full-text

Emotional Regulation and Overeating Behaviors in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review

Behavioral Sciences ◽

10.3390/bs11010011 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 11

Author(s):

Francesca Favieri ◽

Andrea Marini ◽

Maria Casagrande

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Emotional Intelligence ◽

Emotion Regulation ◽

Children And Adolescents ◽

Longitudinal Studies ◽

Emotional Regulation ◽

Inadequate Response ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

The Relationship

The worldwide prevalence of obesity has dramatically increased, mostly in children and adolescents. The Emotional Eating theoretical model has proposed that the failure in emotional regulation could represent a risk factor for establishing maladaptive overeating behavior that represents an inadequate response to negative emotions and allows increasing body-weight. This systematic review investigates the relationship between overeating and both emotional regulation and emotional intelligence in childhood and adolescence, considering both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. Moreover, another goal of the review is evaluating whether emotional regulation and emotional intelligence can cause overeating behaviors. The systematic search was conducted according to the PRISMA-statement in the databases Medline, PsychArtcles, PsychInfo, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Sciences, and allows 484 records to be extracted. Twenty-six studies were selected according to inclusion (e.g., studies focused on children and adolescents without clinical conditions; groups of participants overweight or with obesity) and exclusion (e.g., studies that adopted qualitative assessment or cognitive-affective tasks to measure emotional variables; reviews, commentary, or brief reports) criteria detailed in the methods. Cross-sectional studies showed a negative association between emotional regulation and overeating behavior that was confirmed by longitudinal studies. These findings highlighted the role of maladaptive emotion regulation on overeating and being overweight. The relationship between these constructs in children and adolescents was consistent. The results indicated the complexity of this association, which would be influenced by many physiological, psychological, and social factors. These findings underline the need for further studies focused on emotion regulation in the development of overeating. They should analyze the mediation role of other variables (e.g., attachment style, peer pressure) and identify interventions to prevent and reduce worldwide overweight prevalence.

Download Full-text

Relationship of Sodium Intake with Overweight/Obesity among Chinese Children and Adolescents: Data from the CNNHS 2010–2012

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18094551 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (9) ◽

pp. 4551

Author(s):

Kehong Fang ◽

Yuna He ◽

Yuehui Fang ◽

Yiyao Lian

Keyword(s):

Children And Adolescents ◽

Abdominal Obesity ◽

Sodium Intake ◽

Saturated Fatty Acids ◽

Positive Association ◽

Chinese Children ◽

Weighing Method ◽

Relationship Of ◽

The Relationship ◽

Chinese Children And Adolescents

This study aims to examine association between sodium intake and overweight/obesity among Chinese children and adolescents. Data were obtained from China National Nutrition and Health Surveillance (CNNHS), 2010–2012. All participants recruited in this study aged 7–18 years old and provided complete dietary data on three-day consecutive 24 h dietary recalls combining with the household weighing method. Body Mass Index (BMI) was used to define overweight/obesity, and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) was used to define abdominal obesity. Sodium intake showed association with risk of overweight/obesity assessed by BMI in the highest tertile group with OR of 1.48 (95%CI 1.13–1.94) and 1.89 (95%CI 1.33–2.67) for WHtR. After adjusted for gender, age, household income, area, energy, carbohydrates, protein, fat, saturated fatty acids, and fiber intake, the relationship between sodium intake and overweight/obesity and abdominal obesity are not changed. The same results were founded in subjects aged 10–18 years old. Our results reveal a positive association between sodium intake and overweight/obesity in Chinese children and adolescents, independent of energy consumption.

Download Full-text

Leg Strength Is Related to Endurance Run Performance in Children and Adolescents with Mental Retardation

Pediatric Exercise Science ◽

10.1123/pes.12.3.324 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 12 (3) ◽

pp. 324-333 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Bo Fernhall ◽

Kenneth H. Pitetti

Keyword(s):

Mental Retardation ◽

Body Size ◽

Children And Adolescents ◽

Aerobic Capacity ◽

Significant Influence ◽

Moderate Mental Retardation ◽

Leg Strength ◽

And Gender ◽

The Relationship ◽

Shuttle Run

This study evaluated the relationship between leg strength and endurance run performance, independent of aerobic capacity (V̇O2peak), body size, and gender, in children and adolescents with mild or moderate mental retardation. Twenty-six individuals (15 boys and 11 girls) volunteered and underwent tests of V̇O2peak, isokinetic leg strength, and endurance run performance (600-yard ran/walk and 20-m shuttle run). Results showed that leg strength was significantly related to both types of run performance; however, when controlling for V̇O2peak, body size, and gender, leg strength was a more significant contributor to the 600-yard run/walk than to 20-m shuttle run performance. Gender did not influence these relationships. These data suggest that leg strength has a significant influence on endurance run performance in children and adolescents with mild or moderate mental retardation.

Download Full-text

How does academic achievement relate to cardiorespiratory fitness, self-reported physical activity and objectively reported physical activity: a systematic review in children and adolescents aged 6–18 years

British Journal of Sports Medicine ◽

10.1136/bjsports-2016-097361 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 52 (16) ◽

pp. 1039-1039 ◽

Cited By ~ 48

Author(s):

Adilson Marques ◽

Diana A Santos ◽

Charles H Hillman ◽

Luís B Sardinha

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Systematic Review ◽

Academic Achievement ◽

Children And Adolescents ◽

Cardiorespiratory Fitness ◽

Inclusion Criteria ◽

Eligibility Criteria ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Explanatory Variables ◽

The Relationship

ObjectiveThis report aimed to systematically review the evidence for a differential association between objective and self-reported physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness on academic achievement.DesignSystematic review.Data sourcesStudies were identified from searches in Embase, Education Resources Information Center, PubMed, PsycINFO, SPORTdiscus and Web of Science databases from January 2000 to December 2016.Eligibility criteria for selecting studiesEligibility criteria included cross-sectional, longitudinal and interventional study designs. Outcomes included students’ school grade or a standardised test or measure of academic achievement. Explanatory variables were cardiorespiratory fitness and objective and self-reported physical activity. Inclusion criteria included school-aged children and adolescents aged–18 years (or students from primary to secondary school when student’s participants age was not described) and articles published in English, Portuguese or Spanish.ResultsA total of 51 articles met inclusion criteria: 41 cross-sectional, 2 intervention and 8 longitudinal studies. Results from 11 studies were inconsistent regarding the relationship between objectively measured physical activity and academic achievement. Ten of the 16 articles reported positive associations between self-reported physical activity and academic achievement. From the 22 studies that analysed the relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness and academic achievement, it was verified that they all generally support the beneficial effect of cardiorespiratory fitness on students’ academic achievement.ConclusionHigher cardiorespiratory fitness may be important to enhance children and adolescents’ health and, additionally, academic achievement. Due to a lack of consensus across studies, methodological issues associated with the assessment of physical activity should be considered when investigating physical activity and academic achievement.

Download Full-text