Objectives Little is known about the dose–response relationship between physical activity and health benefits among young people. Our objective was to analyse the association between the frequency of undertaking moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and the self-reported health status of the adolescent population. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting All regions of Spain. Participants Students aged 11–18 years participating in the Spanish Health Behaviour in School-aged Children survey 2006. A total of 375 schools and 21 188 students were selected. Main outcomes The frequency of undertaking MVPA was measured by a questionnaire, with the following four health indicators: self-rated health, health complaints, satisfaction with life and health-related quality of life. Linear and logistic regression models were used to analyse the association, adjusting for potential confounding variables and the modelling of the dose–response relationship. Results As the frequency of MVPA increased, the association with health benefits was stronger. A linear trend (p<0.05) was found for self-rated health and health complaints in males and females and for satisfaction with life among females; for health-related quality of life this relationship was quadratic for both sexes (p<0.05). For self-reported health and health complaints, the effect was found to be of greater magnitude in males than in females and, in all scales, the benefits were observed from the lowest frequencies of MVPA, especially in males. Conclusions A protective effect of MVPA was found in both sexes for the four health indicators studied, and this activity had a gradient effect. Among males, health benefits were detected from very low levels of physical activity and the magnitude of the relationship was greater than that for females.

During adolescence there is a relatively high prevalence of weight problems and eating disorders. Furthermore, body image plays an important role in weight control and eating behaviors as well as in mental health. This study analyses the influence of body mass index, perception of being overweight, and body image satisfaction (BIS) on internalizing symptoms related to mental health in adolescents. In addition, sex, age, socioeconomic status (SES), dieting, and physical activity are taken into consideration. This research is based on the international study Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC). The sample consists of 4531 Spanish adolescents from 13 to 18 years old. Participants were selected through random multi-stage sampling stratified by conglomerates. Two instruments were employed: the HBSC questionnaire and the Youth Self-Report (Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment, ASEBA). Results demonstrated that BIS –the emotional component related to body image– was the main predictor of adolescent internalizing symptoms. In addition, results show double-inequalities according to the interaction effects of sex, age, and SES. Likewise, interesting results are shown regarding how dieting behaviors to lose or gain weight/volume and physical activity relate to body image perception and satisfaction, as well as with internalizing symptoms. This study highlights important body image aspects relevant to intervention and prevention of internalized mental health problems in adolescence.

The salutogenic model has led to revolutionary changes in the study of health. In recent years, a large amount of research has been carried out on the relationship between sense of coherence and health, but relatively little is known about sense of coherence in adolescence. This study is a systematic review of the studies that looked at sense of coherence in adolescent samples. Valuable information is provided regarding the characteristics of the samples, the reliability of the sense of coherence scale versions, the influence of demographic variables and how family, school, peers and neighbourhood impact sense of coherence development. Furthermore, future directions for the study of sense of coherence in adolescence are provided.

Objectives: To assess whether or not communication with parents and with peers is related to experiencing psychological complaints in an attempt to explore the hypotheses of continuity and compensation or moderation between contexts. Methods: Questions on communication with their parents and peers, as well as on the frequency with which they experience psychological complaints were answered by 200,857 adolescents from 36 countries. Results: A cluster analysis detected four groups of adolescents. Those with better communication in both social contexts were the ones showing less psychological complaints. Moreover, we have found (using a regression analysis) that good communication with peers does not improve their experience of psychological complaints if the communication with parents is not good. Conclusions: We conclude that our findings are consistent with the continuity hypothesis and against the compensating or moderating one.