Development and application of rapid assessment diet and physical activity indexes, which suggest high consumption of energy-dense foods and inadequate exercise among adolescents from 6 Latin American cities: a pilot study

Abstract 

This study describes the development and application of a rapid assessment diet quality index (RADQI) and a rapid assessment physical activity index (RAPAI) to characterize the energy intake and expenditure patterns of 1279 Latin American adolescents. Secondary aims were to describe the strength of the relationships of energy intakes and expenditures with sex, socioeconomic status, body mass index, and city of residence and to identify the students' reasons for undertaking physical activity and the types of activities they most enjoyed. Participants were eighth and ninth grade students from Buenos Aires, Argentina; Guatemala City, Guatemala; Havana, Cuba; Lima, Peru; Panama City, Panama; and Santiago, Chile. The RADQI and RAPAI scores were rescaled to T scores with a mean of 50 points (±10) for comparison. The RADQI scores ranged from 53.0 points (±10.5) in Panama City to 44.7 points (±8.3) in Santiago, and RAPAI scores ranged from 54.8 points (±9.2) in Panama City to 46.2 points (±8.6) in Santiago. The correlation between RADQI and RAPAI scores for the combined data set was weak but positive. The 2 reasons most often given for undertaking physical activity were to improve their physical health and to improve their psychological well-being, whereas the types of physical activities most enjoyed involved competitive sports. Results suggest frequent intakes of energy-dense diets and inadequate physical activity participation, prompting a need for learning opportunities targeted at adolescents and their families that teach healthy food choices and encourage greater physical activity participation.

Keywords: Humans, Adolescents, Diet quality, Physical activity, Latin America

Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index, FFQ, Food Frequency Questionnaire, PAHO, Pan American Health Organization, RADQI, rapid assessment diet quality index, RAPAI, rapid assessment physical activity index, SES, socioeconomic status