Gender Differences Relating to Lifestyle Habits and Health-Related Quality of Life of Adolescents

Raúl Jiménez Boraita (), Esther Gargallo Ibort (), Josep María Dalmau Torres () and Daniel Arriscado Alsina ()
Additional contact information
Raúl Jiménez Boraita: University of La Rioja
Esther Gargallo Ibort: University of La Rioja
Josep María Dalmau Torres: University of La Rioja
Daniel Arriscado Alsina: University of La Rioja

Child Indicators Research, 2020, vol. 13, issue 6, No 3, 1937-1951

Abstract: Abstract Adolescence is a decisive stage in human development during which individuals can experience intense physical, psychological, emotional and social changes. The objective of the study was to analyse the lifestyle differences associated with the health of adolescents as a function of gender. For this, a cross-sectional study was conducted with a sample of 761 adolescents, distributed between 383 males (14.55 ± 1.64 years) and 378 females (14.46 ± 1.63 years). Relative to males, females presented significantly lower values for engaging in physical activity, maximal oxygen uptake, physical wellbeing, psychological wellbeing and body satisfaction. In exchange, females demonstrated higher vegetable consumption in the daily diet and greater satisfaction in the educational context. Weak or moderate associations were observed amongst the various variables of physical and mental health in both sexes, with these being stronger in females. In particular, the association of the Mediterranean diet with better quality of life, self-esteem and physical activity engagement stands out. Further, exclusively in the case of females, associations were identified between quality of life and body satisfaction. The significant differences found according to the gender of adolescents suggest that educational and health organisations should give more consideration to establishing intervention strategies that are appropriate to the needs of each gender. Specific intervention is important, particularly in the case of females. This should aim to improve self-esteem, combat pressure and social stereotypes around their body figure, and sculpt physical practice so that it is adapted to their interests, needs and tastes, improving their experience with PA.

Keywords: Lifestyle; Health; Adolescence; Physical wellbeing; Psychological wellbeing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s12187-020-09728-6 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:chinre:v:13:y:2020:i:6:d:10.1007_s12187-020-09728-6

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer. ... f-life/journal/12187

DOI: 10.1007/s12187-020-09728-6

Access Statistics for this article

Child Indicators Research is currently edited by Asher Ben-Arieh

More articles in Child Indicators Research from Springer, The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI)
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().