Assessment of lifestyle patterns among adolescents in selected schools of district Rohtak, Haryana: a cross-sectional study

Introduction: Adolescence is a period in which an individual undergoes major physical and psychological changes. There is convincing evidence between lifestyle diseases and unhealthy habits which are acquired during adolescence and persist in adulthood. An early investigation of the lifestyles of adolescents will probably prevent their progression into serious diseases.

Methods: The present cross sectional study recruited 600 adolescents studying 9^th to 12^th in the selected schools of Rohtak, Haryana, India. The lifestyle related behavior and practices were assessed based on a structured proforma with the following domains: Home and environment, education, eating habits and sexuality. Ethical permission was obtained from the concerned authorities.

Results: The mean age of the study subjects was 15.9 (SD-1.4) and most of them were males (61%). More than half of the study subjects (52.7%) were having BMI of 18 to 25 Kg/m² and 39.8% of them belonged to lower middle socio economic status. A major proportion of the students felt happy to go to school (64%) and were regular in attending school (90%). The majority of them reported having some spiritual beliefs (88%). A major proportion of the students reported that they own smartphones (83%) and were using various social networking sites (83%). Around 63% of the subjects reported eating fast food on monthly basis. About 11% of the subjects reported the usage of alcohol in the current 3 months. Around 20% of the subjects reported knowledge regarding HIV /STD.

Conclusion: The study documents the presence of unhealthy dietary practices, higher levels of usage of mobile phones along with alcohol use in the school children in this setting. The current study provides some preliminary data for policymakers so that they can modify the current policies and interventions according to the needs of adolescents.