Abstract

Poor lifestyle choices in adolescents, including low physical activity (PA), excess screen time, and unhealthy dietary habits, are major threats to their health in the future. Unhealthy behaviors such as insufficient PA, high TV time, and poor dietary choices also tend to cluster, but information on the combined association of screen time, sports participation, and dietary habits is limited in Austrian youth. To examine the association among these behaviors, 165 adolescents (74 girls and 91 boys) between 11 and 14 years of age completed a food frequency questionnaire during regular class hours. Additionally, participants reported whether they participated in club sports and whether they had a TV in the bedroom. The results showed that there were no interaction effects of club sports participation and TV in the bedroom on dietary habits. There were also no significant associations between participation in club sports and dietary habits. Having a TV in the bedroom, however, was associated with more frequent consumption of fast food and soft drinks. These results highlight the detrimental effects of unsupervised access to a TV on dietary habits in youth. As many lifestyle habits are established during adolescence and retained in adulthood, this age is important to develop a healthy lifestyle. Although club sports provide a viable setting to promote health, the results of this study indicate that the potential of club sports to educate children on nutrition is underused.