Obesogenic clusters: Multidimensional adolescent obesity-related behaviors in the U.S.

Abstract

Background: Diet, physical activity, and psychosocial factors are independent and potentially interactive obesity determinants, but few studies have explored complex behavior patterns. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine obesity-related behavior patterning and identify high-risk adolescent groups. Methods: Cluster analysis identified groups with shared behavior patterns in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (1995 and 1996, ages 11-21; N=9,251). Descriptive and multivariate regression analyses compared sociodemographics and prevalent and incident obesity across clusters. Results: Seven and six clusters in males and females, respectively, represented behavior patterns such as School Clubs & Sports, Sedentary Behaviors, Dieters, and Junk Food & Low Activity. Sociodemographics varied across clusters. Compared to School Clubs & Sports clusters, adjusted odds of prevalent and incident obesity were higher for most clusters in females but not males. Conclusions: Cluster analysis identified several obesogenic behavior patterns, highlighting areas for future research and potential avenues for interventions that target broad lifestyle factors. © 2008 The Society of Behavioral Medicine.