Results
Comparison by country and gender (table 2) shows significant
differences for most variables. In Belgium-Flanders more
adolescents drink daily soft drinks, skip breakfast on
weekdays, miss daily dinner with parents, eat regularly in fast
food restaurants, have extreme television viewing behavior
and have few obligation rules, whereas Italian adolescents
skip breakfast more during the weekend and have less
breakfast with parents, watch more television during meals
and have less restriction rules. No significant differences
were found between countries for snacking while watching
television or using the computer.
Comparison by gender revealed a similar pattern for most
variables in both countries. Boys drink more soft drinks,
skip less breakfast during the week, have breakfast more
often with their parents, eat in a fast food restaurant more
often and snack more while using the computer. No significant
gender difference was found for breakfast skipping during the
weekend, miss daily dinner with parents and restriction rules.
Belgian boys watch more television and have snacks and meals
more frequently while watching television, while no significant
gender difference was found for Italian adolescents. In Italy-
Veneto there are less obligation rules for girls than boys, while
no difference was found in Belgium-Flanders.
Significant positive associations with daily soft drink consumption
were found for both genders and countries for
frequent meals in a fast food restaurant, high television
viewing behavior, snacking and meal consumption while
watching television, and low restriction and obligation rules
in the singular models (table 3). All these associations
remained significant in the full model except the obligation
rules in boys (both countries). A significant positive association
with daily soft drink consumption was found for
snacking using computer in both gender and countries with
the exception of Italian girls.
Associations with daily breakfast consumption differed by
country: a significant association was found in Belgium for
boys and girls, with a higher likelihood of daily soft drink
consumption in those who regularly skip breakfast on
weekend and weekdays, while in the Veneto Region a significant
association was only found for girls’ breakfast consumption
during the weekends. After controlling for all other
variables the significant associations with the breakfast
variables disappeared except for Belgian girls’ breakfast consumption
during the weekdays.
No significant association was found for breakfast and
dinner with parents except for Belgian boys (higher
likelihood of daily consumption in those who rarely have
breakfast with parents and regularly have dinner with
parents). However, in the full model the significant association
disappeared for breakfast, but not for dinner.