Kristiina Ojala

University of Jyvaskyla

Itsearvioitu terveydentila on monipuolinen mittari, jossa sosiokulttuuriset tekijät yhdistyvät yksilötasoiseen kokemukseen. Monipuolisuutensa vuoksi se on tärkeä väline lasten terveysseurannassa. Suomalaisten lasten itsearvioitu terveydentila näyttää huonontuneen viime vuosina. Lisää tietoa lasten terveyskokemuksesta ja siihen yhteydessä olevista t...

Breakfast is often considered the most important meal of the day and can benefit adolescent health in several ways. The aims of the present study were (1) to identify adolescents’ socio-demographic (sex, family affluence and family structure) determinants of daily breakfast consumption (DBC) and (2) to describe trends in DBC among adolescents acros...

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has had implications for adolescents’ interpersonal relationships, communication patterns, education, recreational activities and well-being. An understanding of the impact of the pandemic on their mental health is crucial in measures to promote the post-pandemic recovery. Using a person-centered approach, the curre...

Purpose Overweight and obesity are associated with poor mental health in adolescents. However, little is known about whether the influence of overweight and obesity on mental well-being is mediated by self-perceived body weight. Exploring the mechanisms underlying the relationships between obesity and mental well-being is of interest to policy make...

Purpose: Physical activity promotes a positive physical self-image, but less is known about whether the positive effect covers the general self-evaluation of adolescent appearance. This study aimed to further explore the associations between physical activity and body-esteem in Finnish adolescents, via a country-representative cross-sectional study...

(1) Background: The use of social media has become an integral part of adolescents’ daily lives. However, the intensive use of social media can develop into a health-threatening addiction, but unfavourable health consequences can occur even with less use. Social media user groups categorized as no-risk, moderate risk (of developing problematic beha...

Purpose The purpose of this study was to analyze changes in the prevalence of weight reduction behaviors (WRBs) among European adolescents from 26 countries between 2001/2002 and 2017/2018. The impact of the perception of body weight on WLB was also analyzed, with particular attention being paid to overestimation. Methods The data of 639,194 Europ...

Objectives: We examined the associations between adolescents’ health assets and various health indicators (smoking, alcohol use, sleep length, physical activity, healthy eating, oral health, self-reported health, multiple health complaints). Methods: A nationally representative sample was drawn from Finnish-speaking schools, comprising 13- and 15-y...

Background: The concept of health literacy (HL) may help us to better understand the mechanisms leading to health disparities, and to focus on the factors that can be influenced. However, not much is yet known about how HL is related to health disparities, or whether the association exists among adolescents. The aim of the study was to examine the...

Tässä luvussa käsitellään liikunta-aktiivisuuden ja urheiluseuratoimintaan osallistumisen yhteyksiä kouluikäisten hyvinvointiin ja terveyteen. Liikunta -ja terveyskäyttäytymisen välisiä yhteyksiä tarkastellaan seuraavien aihealueiden avulla: itsearvioitu terveys, yksinäisyys, koetut oireet, kehonkuva, yöunen pituus ja riittävyys sekä aamiaisen syöm...

Aims: The aims of this study were to explore time-based trends of socioeconomic differences in alcohol use and drunkenness in Finnish adolescents from 1990 to 2014 and to investigate the significance of two indicators in detecting socioeconomic differences in alcohol use and drunkenness. Methods: Data were retrieved from seven surveys conducted...

Purpose: Perceiving oneself as overweight is common and strongly associated with adolescents' subjective well-being. The prevalence of overweight perceptions and their impact on well-being may have increased over the past decade due to an increase in the salience of weight-related issues. This study examines trends (2002-2014) in the prevalence of...

Background: In the Nordic countries, substantial policy and intervention efforts have been made to increase adolescents' consumption of fruit and vegetables and to reduce their intake of sweets and soft drinks. Some initiatives have been formulated in a Nordic collaboration and implemented at national level. In recent years, social inequalities in...

Fruit and vegetable consumption is linked to many positive health outcomes, nevertheless many adolescents do not consume fruit and vegetables on a daily basis. Data of 488,951 adolescents, aged 11-, 13- and 15- years, from 33 mainly European and North American countries/regions participating in the cross-sectional Health Behaviour in School-aged Ch...

Introduction. Overweight and perception of being overweight, may lead adolescent to lose weight. The aim of the present study was to investigate overweight adolescents' self-perceived weight, body dissatisfaction, and weight control behaviour during 1994-2010 in Finland. Methods. The country-representative, cross-sectional data of 15-year olds were...

To investigate the associations between physical activity and the pattern of risk health behaviour consisting of smoking, alcohol consumption, snuff (snus), cannabis, and condom use among 15-year-old adolescents, taking their educational aspirations and family affluence into account. The data were collected in the Health Behaviour in School-aged Ch...

The objective of the study is to examine the relationship between weight-control behaviors and self-reported sociodemographic characteristics, weight status, and perception of body weight in a large, representative sample of adolescents in the West Bank and Gaza Strip territories of Palestine. Self-report measures of sociodemographic characteristic...

Parents have significant influence on behaviors and perceptions surrounding eating, body image and weight in adolescents. The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of body weight dissatisfaction, difficulty in communication with the parents and the relationship between communication with parents and adolescents' dissatisfaction with their...

Objective—To investigate associations of daily breakfast consumption (DBC) with demographic and lifestyle factors in 41 countries. Methods—Design: Survey including nationally representative samples of 11–15 year olds (n = 204,534) (HBSC 2005–2006). Statistics: Multilevel logistic regression analyses Results—DBC varied from 33 % (Greek girls) to 75...

Additional tables on weight control practices. Additional file includes following tables: Table 4 Prevalence of weight control practices among overweight and non-overweight boys who tried to control their weight during the last 12 months by country, and Table 5 Prevalence of weight control practices among overweight and non-overweight girls who tri...

Despite the global obesity epidemic, few studies have performed cross-national comparisons of adolescents' attempts to lose weight and weight control practices. This study aims to investigate matters mentioned above by weight status in Europe, Israel, and North America. Nationally representative samples of adolescents from over 30 countries complet...