Fruit and vegetable consumption and sports participation among UK Youth.
McAloney, Kareena;
Graham, Hilary;
Law, Catherine;
Platt, Lucinda;
Wardle, Heather;
Hall, Julia;
(2013)
Fruit and vegetable consumption and sports participation among UK Youth.
International journal of public health, 59 (1).
pp. 117-121.
ISSN 1661-8556
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-013-0523-9
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OBJECTIVES: UK guidelines for youth recommend daily physical activity and five portions of fruit and vegetables per day. This study examined the prevalence and clustering of meeting recommendations among 10- to 15-year old. METHODS: Data for 3,914 youth, from the first wave of Understanding Society: the UK Household Longitudinal Study, were analysed. Clustering was assessed using the observed/expected ratio method. RESULTS: A minority of youth met both recommendations, and these behaviours were clustered. The odds of meeting both recommendations were lower for older youth and for Pakistani and Bangladeshi youth; boys in lower income households were less likely to meet both recommendations. CONCLUSIONS: Most youth met neither recommendation and the behaviours clustered with variations by ethnicity and socioeconomic conditions.