Research on the Risk Factors Associated with the Unhealthy Habits of Children and Adolescents

TOPICAL COLLECTIONS

Guest Editor

Jose Antonio Ponce Blandón

University of Seville

Dr. Jose Antonio Ponce is a Health Promotion professor at University of Sevilla (Spain) since 1997 and Head of Spanish Red Cross Nursing College at this University since 2013, and he is Registered Nurse, Graduate in Communication Sciences and Advertising, Master in Public Health and Doctor of Nursing Practice and Public Health. His work is primarily focused on the study of the health habits of children and adolescents and the factors that influence healthy lifestyles in these age groups. He completed his doctoral thesis about the influence of advertising on eating habits of children between 4 and 6 years old, and he has developed an important production of scientific papers in the research group "Health Promotion" of University of Seville (code CTS284), especially in the line of research about health promotion at different stages of life and all the elements of social communication (mass media and social networks) influencing nutrition habits of children and adolescents. He completed his postdoctoral studies at a research internship held at the Federal University of Pampa (Unipampa) in Riogrande do Sul (Brazil) in 2017, where he conducted important research about eating habits of the local schoolers population. Their contributions have helped to identify tools to measure the influence of media on eating habits and the consumption of alcohol and other drugs in adolescents as well as the addressing of new different addictions (such as addictions to new technologies), carrying out experimental works that allowed to identify variables that most influence the acquisition of negative health habits.

Collection Overview

Research involving risk factors which affect the health behaviors of childhood and adolescence is essential in order to understand the causes of unhealthy lifestyles at these ages (and even in later stages of life); furthermore, it can help us design health education strategies and health promotions that are more effective in improving lifestyles. All studies investigating these risk factors are of specific relevance in order to address health problems of high prevalence in our child and adolescent population, such as (1) child obesity; (2) sedentary lifestyle and lack of physical exercise in many children and adolescents; (3) the consumption and abuse of addictive substances such as tobacco, alcohol and other drugs in adolescents; and (4) the practice of risky sexual behavior. Alongside these classic studies, new research is also emerging which targets new emerging risk behaviors, such as behavioral addictions related to new technologies. In these studies, the assessment of tools that help to measure the influence of demographic, family, educational, and social factors (or specific information and communication society factors) can be useful for health promotion and effective health education interventions. Experimental research with groups of children and adolescents is especially relevant to evaluating the most effective interventions and addressing the factors associated with unhealthy habits in these age groups; thus, these types of investigations are a real challenge. In this way, the objective of this collection is to highlight the role of these studies focused on the unhealthy habits of children and adolescents, as well as discuss the most relevant methodologies to investigate: (1) useful tools to identify risk factors related to unhealthy habits in childhood and adolescence; and (2) intervention experiences in these age groups in order to address these risk factors and to improve these health habits. A comprehensive group of studies will be included, covering: (1) the eating habits of children and adolescents; (2) sedentary lifestyle and habits related to physical activity in these age groups; (3) the consumption of harmful substances for health during adolescence and other addictions; as well as (4) the use and abuse of new technologies in these age groups.