Eating habits and total and abdominal fat in Spanish adolescents: influence of physical activity. The AVENA study

Objective: To evaluate the association between specific dietary habits and body fatness in Spanish adolescents, and to analyze the role of leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) in this association.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 1,978 adolescents (1,017 girls) aged 13.0-18.5 years from the AVENA (Alimentación y Valoración del Estado Nutricional en Adolescentes) study were included. Particular dietary habits (breakfast, mid-morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner, and nighttime snack, as well as time spent eating, number of meals, consumption of soft drinks, and ready-to-eat foods) and LTPA were self-reported and analyzed as dichotomic variables (yes/no). The sum of six skinfold thicknesses and waist circumference (WC) values were the main body fatness variables.

Result: Skinfolds and WC values were lower in adolescents who reported consumption of mid-morning snack, afternoon snack, more than four meals per day, and an adequate speed of eating, independently of participation in LTPA. Moreover, a beneficial influence of breakfast consumption on skinfolds and WC values was observed in those adolescent boys who did not participate in LTPA (p for interactions = .044 and .040, respectively).

Conclusions: In Spanish adolescents, certain healthy dietary habits (i.e., mid-morning snack, afternoon snack, > 4 meals per day, adequate eating speed) are associated with lower body fatness, independently of engaging in LTPA. In addition, among boys with non-LTPA, those who skipped breakfast showed the highest body fatness values, indicating a beneficial influence of daily breakfast on body fat in this particular group.