Parent, school, and peer factors related to U.S. adolescents' diet and exercise.

PURPOSE: Adolescent obesity is a significant public health problem in the United States. Developing interventions to prevent or improve adolescent obesity may positively affect physical and mental health across the lifespan. However, to ensure that interventions are effective, influential factors must first be identified. The purpose of this study was to examine associations among parent-, school-, and peer-related factors and diet and physical activity of the adolescents in the United States.

DESIGN AND METHODS: Using logistic regression analyses, cross-sectional data of 5,248 adolescents in grades 5-10 from 184 schools from the World Health Organization's 2009/2010 survey of Health Behavior in School-Aged Children (HBSC) for the United States were analyzed, including variables for parent, peer, and school factors.

RESULTS: Parent- and peer-related factors were associated with adolescents' diet and physical activity (PA). Peer factors were associated with time spent on PA, but not a parent or school factors. The type of school lunch program was the only school factor associated with diet; no school factors were associated with exercise.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Results of this secondary analysis extend prior work, which identified associations between parent- and peer factors and adolescents' diet and exercise. Findings will help identify targets for improving adolescents' diet and exercise behaviors.