“Prevalence of adolescent physical activity and healthy eating based on the 2007 and 2009 Youth Risk Behavior Survey and a diverse ethnic sample from Hawai‘i”

Background: Adolescent obesity remains a significant public health issue (e.g., 18% of adolescents 12 to 19 years old; long-term chronic diseases). The obesity is worse for indigenous populations, such as NH (e.g., 46% for NH adults). Unfortunately, there have been no referred scientific publications on the obesity and related behavior rates for NH versus non-NH adolescents. Methods: The 2007, and 2009 statewide Hawai‘i High School Youth Risk Behavior Survey (HYRBS) data were analyzed. Factor analyses were conducted for data reduction and psychometric validity. Prevalences and means of the obesity-related constructs were computed based on ethnicity, gender, and time. Results: Overall, NH youth had higher obesity and weight-related problems compared to non-NHs. In addition, they eat less nutritiously compared to non-NHs. However, NH adolescents had higher rates of physical activity than non-NHs. The results based on gender and time added complexity to the overall findings. Conclusions: This study found that the obesity health disparity found between NH and non-NH adults has its origin in adolescents—similar to other indigenous populations. Greater efforts are needed in prevention and intervention that could take advantage of the finding that NH youth engage in more physical activity, of the fact that more culturally appropriate interventions may be more effective, and so on. Future research should further disaggregate ethnicity data in Hawai‘i as well as examine national YRBS data.