Exploring Relationships between Common Healthy Behaviors in  Adolescents Using Innovative Social Network Analysis: Adolescent Health Behaviors and Network Links

Iftikhar Alam

doi:10.54393/df.v5i03.172

Authors

Iftikhar Alam Department of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, Bacha Khan University, Charsadda, Pakistan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54393/df.v5i03.172

Keywords:

Adolescent Health, Healthy Behaviors, Network Analysis, Lifestyle Habits, Centrality Measures

Abstract

Data on the interrelationship between common healthy behaviors is not available for adolescents. Objective: To explore the relationships among common healthy behaviors in a population sample using network analysis. Methods: A random sample of 250 adolescents (34% female) was selected from a population of adolescents, who visited the Nutrition, Education, Awareness and Training (NEAT) Clinics during January-March, 2024. Data was collected on a validated questionnaire. This study applied network centrality analysis to investigate six health related behaviors non-smoking, fruit intake, vegetable intake, proper sleep, eating breakfast, and walking. Centrality measures (betweenness, closeness, strength, and expected influence) were used to assess the role and influence of each behavior within health behavior networks. Results: The overall network density was high (0.80; 12 edges out of total 15 possible edges), suggesting that the healthy behaviors in the sample population were tightly interconnected. Such a dense network indicates that changes in one behavior may potentially influence others, supporting the need for multi-behavior interventions. With mean scores grouped between 2.3 and 2.6, moderate variability, symmetric distributions, and full-scale utilization, descriptive analysis showed that teenagers modestly engaged in six fundamental health behaviors. This suggests that while these behaviors are present, they are not widely adopted in the population. Conclusion: Walking and eating breakfast were identified as key lifestyle habits in adolescent health networks, suggesting that they may be targeted strategically for treatments aimed at preventing obesity.

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