Behavioral, contextual and biological factors associated with obesity during adolescence: A systematic review

Adolescence is a critical period for the development of obesity. Obesity arises from a complex interaction between several factors, which are not yet fully understood. Therefore, the purpose of this review was to identify and assess the peer-reviewed scientific literature on the behavioral, contextual and biological factors associated with obesity in adolescents.

PubMed and Scopus were systematically searched to identify prospective cohort studies concerning the relation between behavioral, contextual and biological factors and obesity in adolescents aged 10 to 18 years.

40 studies published between the year 2000 and 2018 were included. A positive consistent association between genetic factors and obesity during adolescence was found. Also, there is evidence to support the association between socioeconomic status and obesity. There was conflicting evidence for the contribution of dietary intake, physical activity, sedentary behavior, sleep, food store environment, school food environment. For the remaining factors no associations were found, or no conclusions could be drawn due to the limited number of studies identified.

Further prospective studies that assess multiple obesity determinants simultaneously and use state-of-art measures are warranted to aid in the development of effective strategies and interventions to prevent obesity during adolescence.