Reading for pleasure in childhood and adolescent healthy behaviours: Longitudinal associations using the Millennium Cohort Study.
prospective_cohort · Level II
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 31765711.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1016/j.ypmed.2019.105889 and PMC identifier 6983940.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Leading a heathy lifestyle in adolescence is vital to individual health in later life. Drawing upon various existing theories, this study hypothesised that engagement in reading for pleasure may enhance healthy behaviours amongst young people. Data were analysed from 11,180 children in the UK Millennium Cohort Study and logistic regressions were used to examine the association between reading frequency at age 11 and health behaviours at age 14. Reading most days was associated with lower odds of trying a cigarette and alcohol and a higher likelihood of having two portions of fruit per day independent of confounding factors. However, spending more time reading was associated with less time spent engaging in moderate to vigorous physical activity. Our findings suggest the importance of further studies exploring the potential health benefits of reading amongst young people.
Medical subject headings
- Adolescent Behavior
- Child Behavior
- Health Behavior
- Reading