Eating habits and weight status in Finnish adolescents

Objective: To investigate the association between eating habits and weight status in adolescents in Finland. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: The Finnish Health in Teens (Fin-HIT) study is a cohort study conducted in adolescents attending third to sixth grade in 496 schools in forty-four municipalities in Southern, Middle and Northern Finland in 2011-2014. Participants: Analyses included 10 569 adolescents from the Fin-HIT study aged 9-14 years (5005 boys and 5564 girls). Adolescents were categorized by their eating habits: healthy eaters (44 center dot 1 %; n 4661), unhealthy eaters (12 center dot 3 %; n 1298), and fruit and vegetable avoiders (43 center dot 6 %; n 4610); and they were grouped into weight status: underweight (11 center dot 1 %), normal weight (73 center dot 6 %) and excess weight (15 center dot 3 %). Results: We found an increased risk of underweight in fruit and vegetable avoiders (OR = 1 center dot 28; 95 % CI 1 center dot 12, 1 center dot 46). An irregular breakfast pattern showed an inverse association with underweight (OR = 0 center dot 70; 95 % CI 0 center dot 59, 0 center dot 84) and an increased risk of excess weight (OR = 1 center dot 56; 95 % CI 1 center dot 37, 1 center dot 77) compared with a regular breakfast pattern. An irregular dinner pattern was inversely associated with underweight (OR = 0 center dot 83; 95 % CI 0 center dot 69, 0 center dot 99) compared with a regular dinner pattern. Conclusions: Avoiding fruits and vegetables and following irregular breakfast and dinner patterns were associated with underweight and excess weight in adolescents.