Adolescent suicide is a global public health concern and the second leading cause of adolescent death worldwide. This study aimed to estimate the burden of adolescent suicidal behaviours and its association with violence and unintentional injury, psychosocial, protective, lifestyle and food security-related factors amongst school-based adolescents across 77 countries in the six World Health Organization (WHO) regions.

This study comprised a sample of 251 763 adolescents drawn from the latest Global School-based Student Health Survey of school-based adolescents, aged 11–17 years, across 77 countries. Logistic regression analyses were employed to estimate the adjusted effect of independent factors on adolescent suicidal behaviours.

The population-weighted 12-month prevalence of suicidal ideation (SI), suicidal planning (SP) and suicidal attempts (SA) amongst school-based adolescents was 18, 18 and 16%, respectively. Adolescent suicidal behaviours (i.e. SI, SP and SA) were respectively associated with being physically attacked, physical fighting, high levels of anxiety, feeling lonely, being bullied, lack of parental support, poor peer support, not having close friends and high levels of sedentary behaviours. Overall, these associations also extended to the context of food insecurity across regions and country income groups, where the magnitude of association slightly varied from odds ratios of 1.25 times to 3.13.

The burden of school-going adolescent suicidal thoughts, suicide planning and suicide attempts is of particular concern in low-resource countries. Comprehensive suicide prevention programmes for school-going adolescents in LMICs are needed that address socio-cultural inequities related to violence and unintentional injury, social support and psychological factors, protective, and lifestyle-related factors.

Increasing evidence documents fathers’ influential role in their children’s eating, physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviours (SB). We aimed to expand limited existing research examining fathers’ influence in these areas by exploring Latino fathers’ beliefs, attitudes and practices related to eating, PA and SB of their young children.

Seven focus group discussions were conducted in Spanish with Latino fathers (n 28) of children aged 2–8 years. Audio recordings were transcribed and translated verbatim without identifiers. Data were analysed using thematic analysis to identify key concepts and themes using NVivo 11 software.

Fathers expressed positive beliefs and attitudes about the importance of healthy eating for their young children, themselves and their families. Nevertheless, the majority reported familial practices including eating out, getting take-out, etc. that have been linked to increased obesity risk among Latino children. Fathers were more involved and engaged in children’s PA than eating and feeding. However, several fathers reported engaging predominantly in sedentary activities with their children, appeared permissive of children’s sedentary habits and struggled to set limits on children’s screen-time.

We provide new information on Latino fathers’ beliefs and child feeding and PA practices that may provide important targets for interventions aimed at promoting healthful eating and PA behaviours of Latino children. Future research should further quantify the influence of Latino fathers’ parenting styles and practices on development of children’s eating, PA and SB. This information is needed to identify risk factors amenable to interventions and to design culturally appropriate parenting and family-based interventions targeting Latino children’s home environment and designed to meet this ethnic group’s specific needs.

To estimate the prevalence of physical activity and sedentary behaviours in European children, and to evaluate the relationship between media availability in personal space and physical activity in relation to total screen time.

Data from the baseline IDEFICS (Identification and prevention of dietary- and lifestyle-induced health effects in children and infants) cross-sectional survey. Information on hours of television/digital video disk/video viewing and computer/games-console use (weekday and weekend days), media device availability in personal space, sports club membership, hours of active organized play and commuting (to and from school) were assessed via a self-reported parental questionnaire. Total screen time was defined as the sum of daily media use and subsequently dichotomized into meeting or not meeting the guidelines of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Eight survey centres (Italy, Estonia, Cyprus, Belgium, Sweden, Germany, Hungary and Spain).

Children (n 15 330; 51 % males) aged 2–10 years.

Percentage of children engaged in total screen time for >2 h/d was higher on weekend days (52 % v. 20 % on weekdays) and in the older group (71 % in males; 57 % in females), varying by country. Children with a television set in their bedroom were more likely not to meet the screen time recommendations (OR = 1·54; 95 % CI 1·60, 1·74).

Approximately a third of the children failed to meet current screen time recommendations. Availability of a television set in personal space increased the risk of excess total screen time. This information could be used to identify potential targets for public health promotion actions of young population groups.

The present study was designed to assess physical activity, sedentary behaviours and dietary habits among adolescents in Kuwait and to compare the differences between genders.

A cross-sectional study was conducted among secondary-school children who participated in the Arab Teens Lifestyle Study (ATLS), a multi-centre collaborative project.

Secondary schools in Kuwait.

Adolescents (463 boys and 443 girls), aged 14–19 years.

Nearly half (44·6 %) of the boys and three-quarters (76·0 %) of the girls did not meet the recommended daily physical activity levels (≥2520 MET-min/week, moderate to vigorous intensity). Nearly all (96·3 % of boys and 96·7 % of girls) adolescents reported spending >2 h/d on screen time, with girls found to spend more time per day watching television (P = 0·02) and using a computer (P < 0·001). The large majority of the adolescents reported skipping breakfast and not having milk and milk products, vegetables and fruit daily, while nearly two-thirds of the boys and girls had sugar-sweetened drinks on more than 3 d/week. Compared with girls, boys reported consuming more fruit (3·4 v. 2·8 times/week, P = 0·001), dairy products (4·5 v. 3·6 times/week, P = 0·001) and energy drinks (1·3 v. 1·1 times/week, P = 0·003).

The majority of the Kuwaiti adolescents, especially girls, do not perform adequate physical activity, spend more time on sedentary activities and have unhealthy dietary practices. The findings emphasize an urgent need for implementing an appropriate intervention for promoting physical activity, healthy eating and reducing sedentary behaviours among these children.

To evaluate associations between home environmental factors and BMI of young American-Indian children.

Cross-sectional and prospective study.

School-based obesity prevention trial (Bright Start) on a Northern Plains Indian reservation in South Dakota. Mixed model multivariable analysis was used to examine associations between child BMI categories (normal, overweight and obese) and home food availability, children's dietary intake and physical activity. Analyses were adjusted for age, gender, socio-economic status, parent BMI and school; prospective analyses also adjusted for study condition and baseline predictor and outcome variables.

Kindergarten children (n 424, 51 % male; mean age = 5·8 years, 30 % overweight/obese) and parents/caregivers (89 % female; 86 % overweight/obese) had their height and weight measured and parents/caregivers completed surveys on home environmental factors (baseline and 2 years later).

Higher fast-food intake and parent-perceived barriers to physical activity were marginally associated with higher probabilities of a child being overweight and obese. Vegetable availability was marginally associated with lower probabilities of being overweight and obese. The associations between home environmental factors and child weight status at follow-up were not significant.

Findings indicate that selected aspects of the home environment are associated with weight status of American-Indian children. Obesity interventions with this population should consider helping parents to engage and model healthful behaviours and to increase availability of healthful foods at home.

To examine the association between breakfast consumption and physical activity in a well-characterised sample of English children.

Cross-sectional study using food diaries to record breakfast consumption and accelerometry to assess physical activity.

Norfolk county, England.

Children (n 1697) aged 9–10 years from the SPEEDY (Sport, Physical Activity and Eating behaviour: Environmental Determinants in Young people) study.

Boys who consumed a poor-quality breakfast based on dairy product, cereal and fruit intakes spent approximately 7 min more time in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) during weekday afternoons and evenings compared with those who did not consume breakfast (P < 0·05). On weekend days, boys who consumed a poor- or good-quality breakfast spent approximately 6 and 5 min less time respectively being sedentary during the mornings compared with breakfast non-consumers (P < 0·05). Boys who consumed a good-quality breakfast spent almost 3 min more in MVPA during the morning on weekend days compared with non-consumers, and boys who consumed a poor- or good-quality breakfast were 22 % and 16 % more active overall respectively than breakfast non-consumers (P < 0·05). During the rest of the day, boys who consumed a good-quality breakfast spent about 11 min less time being sedentary (P < 0·05) and 7 min more time in MVPA (P < 0·01).

Although some associations between breakfast consumption and physical activity were detected for boys, the present study does not provide strong evidence that failing to consume breakfast, or having a low energy intake at breakfast time, is detrimental to children's physical activity levels.

To assess the relationship between obesity and sedentary behaviours, such as watching television or using a computer (‘screen-time’), and describe how this relationship varies between population subgroups.

Cross-sectional analysis of the relationship between obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2) and screen-time, adjusted for age, sex, income and education and compared according to a range of personal characteristics.

New South Wales, Australia.

A total of 91 266 men and women aged 45 years and above from the general population of New South Wales in 2006–2007 and providing self-reported information on height and weight and other factors.

Obesity prevalence was 21·4 %. Compared to individuals with <2 h of daily screen-time, the adjusted relative risks (RR) of obesity were 1·35 (95 % CI 1·26, 1·44), 1·70 (95 % CI 1·59, 1·82), 1·94 (95 % CI 1·81, 2·08) and 1·92 (95 % CI 1·80, 2·06) for 2–3, 4–5, 6–7 and ≥8 h, respectively. The increase in obesity with increasing screen-time was similar within categories of overall physical activity, but was attenuated in those in full-time paid work, compared to non-workers (P for interaction < 0·0001). Among non-workers, the overall obesity RR per 2 h increase in daily screen-time was 1·23 (95 % CI 1·21, 1·25) and was significantly elevated in all groups examined, ranging from 1·16 to 1·31 according to sex, level of age, education, income, smoking and fruit consumption. The RR did not differ significantly according to overall physical activity, region of residence and alcohol and vegetable consumption, but was substantially lower in disabled v. not-disabled individuals (P for interaction < 0·0001).

Obesity increases with increasing screen-time, independent of purposeful physical activity. This was observed in all population groups examined, although it is attenuated in full-time workers and disabled individuals.