Gwozdz, Wencke and Nie, Peng and Sousa-Poza, Alfonso and DeHenauw, Stefaan and Felső, Regina and Hebestreit, Antje and Iguacel, Isabel and Lissner, Lauren and Lauria, Fabio and Page, Angie and Reisch, Lucia A. and Tornaritis, Michael and Veidebaum, Toomas and Williams, Garrath David and Foraita, Ronja (2019) Peer Effects on Weight Status, Dietary Behaviour and Physical Activity among Adolescents in Europe : Findings from the I.Family Study. Kyklos, 72 (2). pp. 270-296. ISSN 0023-5962
Manuscript_appendix_preprint.pdf - Accepted Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial.
Download (613kB)
Abstract
This study uses survey data from the I.Family Study to investigate the association between adolescent and peer overweight in a sample of adolescents aged 12–16 from six European countries. We find clear evidence of peer effects on body mass index, waist circumference, and body fat, which are stronger among adolescents at the upper end of overweight distribution. We also provide evidence that both consumption of less healthy foods and time spent in leisure time physical activity and audio‐visual media are positively associated with similar behaviours among friends. These observations may suggest that peer effects on adolescent overweight operate by influencing friends’ behaviour patterns, especially unhealthy food consumption and physical (in)activity.