Physical Activity and Eating Behavior Inequalities Mediating the Effects of Socioeconomic Status and Sex on Adolescent Quality of Life: Insights of the PRALIMAP Trial

• Published in: Journal of physical activity & health Vol. 19; no. 10; p. 648
• Main Authors: Manneville, Florian, Briançon, Serge, Legrand, Karine, Langlois, Johanne, Lecomte, Edith, Omorou, Abdou Y, Guillemin, Francis
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01-10-2022
• Subjects: Adolescent; Exercise; Feeding Behavior; Female; Humans; Male; Quality of Life; Social Class; Socioeconomic Factors; Surveys and Questionnaires; health behavior; mental health; youth
• ISSN: 1543-5474
• DOI: 10.1123/jpah.2022-0093

This study aimed to quantify the 2-year mediating effects of physical activity (PA) and eating behavior (EB) on socioeconomic and sex inequalities in quality of life (QoL) among French adolescents.
Adolescents from a 2-year school-based trial were included. PA and EB were assessed at baseline, 1 year, and 2 years using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire and an eating habits questionnaire, respectively. QoL was measured at 2 years using the Duke Health Profile questionnaire. The mediating effect of adherence to PA and EB guidelines in the associations between socioeconomic status or sex and QoL was analyzed with a counterfactual method.
Among the 3562 included adolescents (mean age, 15.2 [0.6] y), being a boy and having a high socioeconomic status was associated with high QoL. Differences in QoL by socioeconomic status were mediated by adherence to guidelines for PA (up to 10.2%) and EB (up to 8.8%), and differences in QoL by sex were predominantly mediated by adherence to guidelines for PA (up to 163.8%).
Policies, programs, and interventions designed to reduce socioeconomic and sex inequalities in QoL among adolescents could use PA and EB as leverage.