Associations of Media Exposure, Family Role, Breakfast Habit, and Food Selection with Overweight among Adolescents

Background: Overweight and obesity in adolescents are associated with higher risk of morbidity and mortality in adulthood. Previous studies have investigated factors associated with eating behavior to understand the background of eating behavior that can be useful for child nutrition preventive purposes. This study aimed to determine the association between media exposure, family role, breakfast habit, and food choice with overweight among adolescents. Subjects and Method: This was a cross-sectional study conducted at Junior High School in Medan, North Sumatra, on June 2019. A sample of 116 students was selected for this study by purposive sampling. The dependent variable was overweight. The independent variables were media exposure, family role, breakfast habit, and food selection. Height and weight were measured by microtoise and scale. The data of independent variables were collected by questionnaire, food recall, and food frequency questionnaire. The data were analyzed by chi square. Results: The risk of overweight increased with high media exposure (OR= 2.47; 95% CI= 1.17 to 5.23; p= 0.017), lack of family role (OR= 1.86; 95% CI= 0.89 to 3.90; p= 0.096), poor breakfast habit (OR= 2.14; 95% CI= 1.02 to 4.50; p= 0.043), and poor food selection (OR= 2.89; 95% CI= 1.36 to 6.15; p= 0.005). Conclusion: Overweight is associated with media exposure, breakfast habit, and food selection, but family role were statistically non-significant. Keywords: media exposure, family role, breakfast habit, food selection, overweight