Lebensmittelverzehr und Aktivitätsverhalten bei 11- bis 17-jährigen Jugendlichen

Abstract

The purpose of this master thesis is to examine whether there is a relationship between physical activity of German adolescents (11-17 years old) and their food consumption. According to the literature adolescents living in Germany and other western industrial nations do not often meet the recommendations for food consumption, physical activity and media use. A further question is whether healthy and unhealty lifestyles can exist at the same time. The objective of the following multivariate data analysis which is based on the data of the German children and youth health survey of Germany (KiGGS) is to test the relationship between food consumption and activity behaviour. The main results of the analysis show that unhealthy and healthy behaviour can exist at the same time, too. E.g. Boys and girls, who are very active, but use media more than recommended score highest in the amount of fast food consumption. In contrast, adolescents (boys and girls) who reach the recommendations for physical activity and media use show the highest consumption of milk and dairy products and fruits. Less active adolescents with high media use were found to consume the highest amount of softdrinks. Boys of this group eat least vegetables as well as milk and dairy products while girls consume least fruits. Thus, the results show that a lifestyle corresponding to the recommendations for activity behaviour is related to a favourable food choice. The information for political strategies is that it would be useful to establish all-day schools in Germany with offers for healthy lunch and sports.