Most adolescents do not get enough exercise each day or maintain a healthy diet, according to researchers who analyzed the diet and exercise behaviors of 878, adolescents, 11 to 15 years old, and found that nearly 80 percent had multiple physical activity and dietary risk behaviors.

Using physical measurements and surveying techniques, the researchers assessed four behaviors in the adolescents: physical activity, television viewing time, percent calories from fat, and daily servings of fruits and vegetables. They also assessed relevant health-related behaviors of the parents.

More than half (55 percent) of the adolescents did not meet the physical activity guideline of 60 minutes per day, although more boys than girls met this goal (59 percent v. 34 percent). About 30 percent of the adolescents exceeded the two hour daily limit of TV viewing time.

Only 12 percent of adolescents ate 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables per day as is currently recommended. Only 32 percent met the guidelines of less than 30 percent of calories for total fat consumption less than 10 percent of calories from saturated fat, according to the report in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Only 2 percent of adolescents met all four health-promotion guidelines, Dr. Alvaro Sanchez Perez from Basque Health Service-Osakidetza, Bilbao, Spain and colleagues at the University of California, San Diego.

There was some evidence linking parents' health behaviors with that of their adolescents. For example, among girls, having a parent who was a former or current smoker and having a parent that fell short of the recommended daily servings of fruits and vegetables was associated with a higher number of risk behaviors.

The investigators say the current findings "contribute to the body of evidence that most adolescents fail to meet multiple diet and physical activity guidelines and continue to be in need of interventions that target multiple behaviors."

Dr. Sanchez Perez added: "To promote healthy lifestyle behaviors among adolescents, such as a healthy diet and engaging in regular physical activity, is of high priority (to guard) against the actual major health issues in both the adult and young sector of the nation -- diabetes and obesity."

"These health promotion efforts require a multilevel and multisector approach including, among others, the family, the community, and policymakers," the lead researcher added.

SOURCE: American Journal of Preventive Medicine, February 2007.