Health Behaviour of Icelandic Youth

Health Behavior of Icelandic Youth is an extensive long-term study on the health status of Icelandic youth and its relation to sleep, physical activity and school environment. The research is organized by investigators at the School of Education, University of Iceland, in collaboration with the city of Reykjavík, Directorate of Health, Icelandic Heart Association, National Institute of Health in USA and Western Norway University of Applied Sciences in Bergen. The overall aim of the research was to investigate physical health status, in particular longitudinal changes in body composition, physical activity, sleep, mental aspects and fitness in a cohort of Icelandic children (born in 1999), from age 7 and 9 years old to 15 and 17 years old. Furthermore, the aim was to assess how these factors are associated with objective measures of sleeping patterns and physical activity in adolescence and the longitudinal changes in these from age 15 to 17. In the years 2006 and 2008, the first wave of data collection was conducted under the title Lifestyle of 7 and 9 year old Icelandic children - an intervention study for improved health. Data collection for the second wave was conducted in 2015 and 2017, under Health Behavior of Young Icelanders, where individuals from the first wave were followed up along with a group of new individuals.