To design interventions that target energy balance-related behaviours -i.e. diet, physical activities (PA) and sedentary behaviours- among school-age children, knowledge the possible determinants of these behaviours is needed. In a study just published in PLOS ONE -with Dr. Saskia te Velde as first author- we investigated schoolchildren's personal beliefs and attitudes, home- and friend-related variables regarding soft drink intake, fruit juice intake, breakfast consumption, TV viewing and physical activity in eight countries across Europe. This study was part of the ENERGY project.A majority of the children reported unfavourable attitudes, preferences and subjective norms regarding soft drink, fruit juice intake and TV viewing accompanied with high availability and accessibility at home. Few children reported unfavourable attitudes and preferences regarding breakfast consumption and PA. Many children reported unfavourable health beliefs regarding breakfast consumption and TV viewing. Substantial differences between countries were observed, especially for variables regarding soft drink intake, breakfast consumption and TV viewing.
We concluded that children across Europe have favourable attitudes to some healthy behaviours (PA, breakfast intake) as well as to some unhealthy behaviours (soft drink consumption, TV viewing). Additionally, many children across Europe have personal beliefs and are exposed to social environments that are not supportive to engagement in healthy behaviours. Moreover, the large differences in personal, family and friend-related variables across Europe argue for implementing different intervention strategies in the different European countries.
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