Gender Differences in Lifestyle: Results of a Survey among Indian School-going Adolescents

Abstract

Gendered segregation of lifestyle issues is of central importance in identifying gender-linked priorities of health education being followed in various schools with different economic-cultural settings. Therefore, this study has examined gender differences in multiple aspects of an adolescent’s lifestyle, including dietary habits, food consumption, sleep, sports, games, physical activity, sedentary and leisure patterns through an anonymous lifestyle survey. The survey questioned 1,500 Indian school-going adolescents from 18 schools located in various rural, urban and metro areas of the country. The results indicated that female adolescents in rural schools had the least positive dietary habits, and had a limited engagement in sports or games while male school-going adolescents fared less favourably in cultural activities. Urban and metro-urban female school going adolescents reported a greater engagement in sedentary activities than their rural counterparts. Such trends would suggest a crucial need to design and implement gender-sensitive health education.