OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to examine the association of cigarette smoking and weight concerns in adolescents, given that adolescents may begin smoking or have difficulty quitting because of their expectancies of the effects of smoking on body weight. METHODS: This study used data from a cross-sectional survey of 4523 Connecticut high school adolescents to assess the influence of gender, smoking intensity, and dietary-restrictive behavior on smoking-related weight concerns. RESULTS: Heavy smokers were significantly less likely to engage in healthy dietary restrictions than nonsmokers; however, light smokers did not differ from nonsmokers. Both light and heavy smokers were significantly more likely to engage in unhealthy dietary restriction when compared with nonsmokers. In the model that was used to examine smokers only, heavy smokers were significantly less likely to engage in healthy dietary restriction than light smokers, but smoking level was not associated with unhealthy dietary restrictions. Dietary restrictions are significantly associated with smoking-related weight concerns; however, this seems to be related to type of dietary-restrictive behavior, with greater weight concerns observed only in those smokers who engaged in unhealthy dietary restrictions and not in those who engaged in healthy dietary restrictions or no restrictions. CONCLUSIONS: Although limited by its cross-sectional nature, the findings from this large, geographically diverse sample have clinical implications for smoking prevention and cessation interventions in adolescents.
Many e-cigarette users find the variety of e-cigarette flavors appealing. We examined whether preferences for e-liquid flavors and the total number of flavors preferred differed between samples of adolescent and adult e-cigarette users. We also examined whether these preferences were associated with e-cigarette use frequency for adolescents or adults, respectively.The analytic samples comprised 1) 396 adolescent, past-month e-cigarette users from 5 Connecticut high schools who completed an anonymous, school-based survey in Fall 2014 (56.1% male; 16.18 [1.18] years; 42.2% past-month smokers), and 2) 590 adult, past-month e-cigarette users who completed an anonymous, MTurk survey in Fall 2014 (53.7% male; 34.25 [9.89] years; 51.2% past-month smokers).Compared to adults, a larger proportion of adolescents preferred fruit, alcohol, and "other"-flavored e-liquids, whereas adults disproportionately preferred tobacco, menthol, mint, coffee, and spice-flavored e-liquids (p-values < .05). Adults also preferred a greater total number of flavors compared to adolescents and used e-cigarettes more frequently (p-values < .001). Flavor preferences uniquely were associated with frequency of e-cigarette use within the adolescent sample; the total number of flavors preferred was associated with more days of e-cigarette use (ηp2 = 0.04), as were preferences for fruit (ηp2 = 0.02), dessert (ηp2 = 0.02), and alcohol-flavored (ηp2 = 0.02) e-liquids.Flavor preferences differed between adolescent and adult samples. While youth reported less frequent e-cigarette use overall, their preferences for specific flavors and the total number of flavors preferred were associated with more days of e-cigarette use, indicating that flavor preferences may play an important role in adolescent e-cigarette use.
Video game playing may negatively impact youth. However, the existing literature on gaming is inconsistent and often has focused on aggression rather than the health correlates of gaming and the prevalence and correlates of problematic gaming.We anonymously surveyed 4028 adolescents about gaming and reported problems with gaming and other health behaviors. A total of 51.2% of the sample reported gaming (76.3% of boys and 29.2% of girls).There were no negative health correlates of gaming in boys and lower odds of smoking regularly; however, girls who reported gaming were less likely to report depression and more likely to report getting into serious fights and carrying a weapon to school. Among gamers, 4.9% reported problematic gaming, defined as reporting trying to cut back, experiencing an irresistible urge to play, and experiencing a growing tension that could only be relieved by playing. Boys were more likely to report these problems (5.8%) than girls (3.0%). Correlates of problematic gaming included regular cigarette smoking, drug use, depression, and serious fights. Results suggest that gaming is largely normative in boys and not associated with many health factors. In girls, however, gaming seems to be associated with more externalizing behaviors and fewer internalizing symptoms.The prevalence of problematic gaming is low but not insignificant, and problematic gaming may be contained within a larger spectrum of externalizing behaviors. More research is needed to define safe levels of gaming, refine the definition of problematic gaming, and evaluate effective prevention and intervention strategies.
