Relationship of household composition with sedentary behavior and eating habits of 102,072 adolescents: A representative sample of Brazil (PeNSE Study)

Purpose: The household composition is important for adolescents and understanding its relationship with their lifestyle habits is essential. This study aimed to analyze the relationship of household composition with sedentary behavior and eating habits of adolescents. Methods: This study analyzed data from the Brazilian National Scholar Health Survey—PeNSE 2015. The sample was composed by 102,072 adolescents (11–17 years). The independent variable of the study was the household composition (living with both parents versus living with only one parent or none of them), whereas outcome variables were eating habits and sedentary behavior patterns. Logistic regression models were used to analyze the association between variables. Results: Adolescents living with both parents were less likely to have high sedentary behavior (≥2 h OR = 0.89; ≥4 h OR = 0.86), eat while watching TV for ≥5 days/week (OR = 0.88), frequent fried foods (OR = 0.89), sweets (OR = 0.92), soft drinks (OR = 0.86) and ultra processed foods (OR = 0.97) consumption, as were more likely to have lunch with parents (OR = 1.87), frequent vegetables (OR = 1.12), beans (OR = 1.14) and fruits (OR = 1.11) consumption than those who live with one parent or none of them. Conclusion: Households composed by both father and mother was associated with lower sedentary behavior and healthy eating habits in Brazilian adolescents.