Aims: The study assessed the differential influences of social support from family and friends on the physical activity and fruit and vegetable consumption of adolescent boys and girls. Both lifestyle choices have implications for health and play a role in the prevention of obesity and cancers.
Methods: Participants (313 12-14 year old boys and girls, Mage=12.87years) recruited from 4 secondary schools in metropolitan South Australia completed a questionnaire measuring physical activity, diet and social support. The planned accrual target was 400.
Results: Boys participated in significantly more exercise each week than girls (M=634.19, SD=666.68; M=433.21, SD=351.13 mins respectively), t(155)=2.30, p=.023. Girls reported a greater amount of social support for exercising than boys, t(155)=1.99, p=.048. There were no other significant differences between genders on measures of social support from friends and family or types of food consumed (all t’s<1.79, p>.079). For boys, there was a significant relationship between social support from family and amount of exercise, r(117)=.22, p<.05, but not for social support from friends and amount of exercise r(117)=.09, p>.05. Boys also ate significantly more fruit/vegetables when they felt supported in this behaviour by their families, r(117)= .26, p<.01. For girls, there were no significant relationships between social support from friends/family and exercise or fruit/vegetable consumption (all r’s<.13, p>.10). For both genders, actual consumption of snack/fast food was significantly related to perceptions of their best friend’s consumption (boys: r=.77, p=.000, girls: r=.67, p=.000).
Conclusion: Adolescent boys increase their exercise and healthy eating behaviour when they feel support from their families but not their friends, whereas girls are influenced by neither. All adolescents reported an association between their and their friend’s consumption of unhealthy foods. This suggests that, in this age group, modelling may be a better strategy to improve healthy food consumption than social support, especially for girls.