Lifestyle, appearance satisfaction and depressive symptoms in 13–16 years old Norwegian adolescents – A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Purpose: To examine gender-specific associations between multiple lifestyle-related risk factors, appearance satisfaction and depressive symptoms in a sample of Norwegian adolescents (13–16 years of age), and to study the role of appearance satisfaction as a possible confounder in the associations between lifestyle and depressive symptoms.

Materials and methods: Data were obtained from Ungdata, a cross-sectional national survey of adolescents in Norway. In total 4379 subjects were included in the study. We constructed a lifestyle risk index and used multiple logistic regressions to examine the associations between lifestyle-related risk factors, appearance satisfaction, and depressive symptoms.

Results: High screen time and use of alcohol were significantly associated with depressive symptoms among girls, while high screen time, tobacco and cannabis use were significantly associated with depressive symptoms among boys. An additive relationship was observed between the lifestyle risk index scores and the likelihood of depressive symptoms for both genders, the relationship being strongest among boys. Low appearance satisfaction was strongly associated with depressive symptoms, especially among boys, and identified as an important confounder in the associations between lifestyle and depressive symptoms, particularly among girls.

Conclusions: High screen time was the most prevalent lifestyle risk behavior independently associated with depressive symptoms. Multiple lifestyle changes and improvement of appearance satisfaction should be included in measures targeting adolescents for the prevention and treatment of depressive symptoms. Future studies should elaborate on the gender differences in other adolescent age groups. Appearance satisfaction should be acknowledged as an important confounder in future studies of lifestyle and depressive symptoms.

Keywords:

• Depressive symptoms
• lifestyle
• appearance satisfaction
• adolescence

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank all participating adolescents. We are grateful to NOVA and KoRus for giving us access to the data.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

Availability of data and materials

Restrictions apply to the availability of data, which were used under license for the current study, and so are not available publicly. The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from NOVA on reasonable request. NOVA is not responsible for the institutions’ data analyses and the interpretation of the results.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ingebjørg Hestetun

Ingebjørg Hestetun is psychologist, specialized in clinical psychology. She works at the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Telemark Hospital, Skien, Norway. She has published works on children, adolescents, lifestyle and mental health, and on the prevention of suicide.

Martin V. Svendsen

Martin Veel Svendsen is MSc and works as a statistician at Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Telemark Hospital, Skien, Norway. He has published works on a wide range of topics with a main focus on public health issues related to children and adolescents and occupational medicine.

Inger M. Oellingrath

Inger Margaret Oellingrath is MSc and PhD in Food science and nutrition. She works as associate professor at Department of Nursing and Health Sciences, University of South-Eastern Norway, Porsgrunn, Norway. She has published work on lifestyle behaviours, mental health and weight development among children and adolescents.