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Background: Adolescents with obesity are less likely to flourish and be academically engaged in comparison to their healthy weight peers. However, it is unknown how participation in physical activity influences flourishing and academic engagement in adolescents with obesity. The current study examined engagement in varying levels of physical activity and the likelihood of flourishing and academic engagement in adolescents with obesity. Methods: Analyses included 26 764 adolescents, ages 10–17 years, from the parent-reported, combined 2016–2017 National Survey of Children's Health. Participants were grouped by physical activity levels (none, low, moderate, daily). Outcome variables included flourishing (finishing tasks, staying calm when faced with a challenge and showing interest in new things) and academic engagement (completing all required homework and caring about doing well in school). Logistic regression models, adjusted for age, sex, race, household income, highest level of education in the household, behavioural conduct problems and depression assessed the likelihood of each outcome comparing physical activity levels among adolescents with obesity. Results: Adolescents with obesity who participated in any amount of physical activity (low, moderate and daily) or sports had significantly greater likelihood of flourishing and academic engagement compared those that did not engage in any physical activity (p's ¡ 0.05). Conclusions: Participation in even low amounts of physical activity or participation in sports increases the likelihood of flourishing and academic engagement in adolescents with obesity, which expands on previous findings that adolescents with obesity are less likely to flourish and be academically engaged in comparison to their healthy weight peers. © 2021 World Obesity Federation
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Purpose: To determine whether perceived changes (i.e. perception of engagement during the pandemic relative to pre-pandemic) in specific health behaviors differ by weight status (i.e. healthy weight, overweight, obese). Design: Cross-sectional. Recruitment took place between June-August 2020, via social media posts and Qualtrics online panels. Setting: Participants completed the survey online through the Qualtrics platform. Sample: Analyses included N = 502 participants (≥18 years); 45.2% healthy weight (n = 227), 28.5% overweight (n = 143), and 26.3% obese (n = 132). Measures: Study-specific survey items included questions about demographics and perceived changes in health behaviors. Analysis: Logistic regression models, adjusted for age, race, ethnicity, gender, education, and COVID-19 diagnosis, assessed the odds of perceiving changes in health behaviors considered a risk for weight gain. Results: Participants with obesity, but not overweight, were significantly more likely to report deleterious changes to health behaviors compared to healthy weight peers, including: (1) decreased fruit/vegetable consumption [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 1.92; 95% confidence interval (CI): (1.13, 3.26)]; (2) increased processed food consumption [AOR = 1.85; 95%CI: (1.15, 3.00)]; (3) increased caloric intake [AOR = 1.66; 95% CI: (1.06, 2.61)]; (4) decreased physical activity [AOR = 2.07; 95%CI: (1.31, 3.28)]; and (5) deterioration in sleep quality [AOR = 2.07; 95%CI: (1.32, 3.25)]. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that adults with obesity may be at greater risk for unhealthy behaviors during a period of prolonged social distancing, potentially exacerbating the obesity epidemic. © The Author(s) 2021.