Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33352571›Full record

ArticleObesity facts2021

Weight Status and BMI-Related Traits in Adolescent Friendship Groups and Role of Sociodemographic Factors: The European IDEFICS/I.Family Cohort.

Kirsten Mehlig, Christopher Holmberg, Leonie H Bogl, Eva Erhardt, Charalambos Hadjigeorgiou, Antje Hebestreit, Jaakko Kaprio, Fabio Lauria, Nathalie Michels, Iris Pigeot and 4 more

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Article in Obesity facts, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

Kirsten MehligSchool of Public Health and Community Medicine, Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden, kirsten.mehlig@gu.se.
Christopher HolmbergInstitute of Health and Care Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Leonie H BoglDepartment of Epidemiology, Center for Public Health, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Eva ErhardtDepartment of Pediatrics, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary.
Charalambos HadjigeorgiouResearch and Education Institute of Child Health, Strovolos, Cyprus.
Antje HebestreitLeibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology, BIPS, Bremen, Germany.
Jaakko KaprioDepartment of Epidemiology, Center for Public Health, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Fabio LauriaInstitute of Food Sciences, National Research Council, Avellino, Italy.
Nathalie MichelsDepartment of Public Health, Ghent University, Gent, Belgium.
Iris PigeotLeibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology, BIPS, Bremen, Germany.
Lucia A ReischDepartment of Management, Society and Communication, Copenhagen Business School, Frederiksberg, Denmark.
Toomas VeidebaumNational Institute for Health Development, Tallinn, Estonia.
Lauren LissnerSchool of Public Health and Community Medicine, Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
On behalf of the IDEFICS and I.Family consortia

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDuring adolescence, health behaviors and weight status are increasingly influenced by friendship and peer networks. This paper examines resemblances in weight-related characteristics and how they differ by sociodemographic factors.

methodsOver 3,000 friendships were reported by 1,603 adolescents, aged 11-16 years, who participated in the school-based I.Family study in 6 European countries. Each "source child" named 1-10 friends for whom standardized weight-related traits were available in the same survey. The mean value of the friends' traits weighted by time spent together was calculated, and related to the source child's trait. Country, age and sex of the source child, parental education, and immigrant background were considered for confounding and moderation.

resultsSource children's z-scores of body fat percent and BMI were positively associated with their friends' characteristics, in particular if they had highly educated parents. Positive associations were also found regarding the frequency of fast-food consumption, impulsivity, screen time, preference for sugar-sweetened foods, and hours spent in sports clubs, in increasing order of effect size. Additionally, correlations were observed between friends' cognitive and school functioning and being bullied. No associations were seen for a preference for high-fat foods, weight concerns, and health-related quality of life. Finally, parental education and immigrant background were associated between friends in all countries except Sweden, where no associations were observed.

conclusionAdolescent friends shared a number of weight-related characteristics. For weight measures per se, positive associations with friends' characteristics were only observed in adolescents with high parental education. Associations regarding energy-balance behaviors and indicators of school-related well-being did not differ by parental education. Parental education and immigrant background correlated positively in friends in most countries showing that social aggregation is already occurring in adolescence. The wide spectrum of friendship associations in weight-related traits and behaviors suggests that health promotion initiatives in adolescents should be directed towards peer groups in both school-related and leisure-time environments. ISRCTN Registry: Pan-European IDEFICS/I.Family children cohort (ID ISRCTN62310987; https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN62310987).

Indexed as

FriendsAdolescentAdolescent BehaviorBody Mass IndexChildCohort StudiesEuropeFamilyFast FoodsFemaleHealth BehaviorHumansLeisure ActivitiesMalePeer GroupQuality of LifeAdolescent healthFriendship networksObesitySociodemographic factors

Identifiers

PMID33352571
PMCPMC7983617

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.