Dietary and oral hygiene habits of active athletes and adolescents attending ordinary junior high schools

Background: Active sports require sufficient energy intake. How do young athletes meet this need? The aim of this study was to investigate self-reported health and oral behaviors of young athletes and to compare them with a population-based sample of ordinary adolescents.

Design: A computer-based questionnaire on oral hygiene habits and dietary habits was conducted in two junior high schools with special classes for athletes in 2011. Adolescents of similar age (n=1230) attending ordinary classes had responded the same questionnaire earlier in the city of Oulu (in 2004) and in Kajaani, Finland (in 2006-2007). Answers to individual questions as well as sum scores of the answers were analyzed. The answers of the athletes and ordinary adolescents were analyzed by gender using cross-tabulation and chi-square testing.

Results: The mean sum score of the athletes indicated their more favorable health behavior compared with the other adolescents. They also ate more frequently the four daily than the others; in addition, they ate the school lunch as an entity which it was intended. However, the athlete boys consumed more fizzy/soft drinks and ate chocolate more often than the rest. The athletes also brushed their teeth more frequently than ordinary adolescents. Oral health behavior of the girls was better than that of the boys.

Conclusions: Health behavior of the young athletes is better than that of other adolescents. Continuous oral health education should be targeted to all adolescents; growing boys should be target group of information on healthy sources of energy.