Comparison of Adolescents' Subjective Health Status, Physical Activity Index, and Perceived Stress Rate: Propensity Matching Analysis of Obese and Non-obese Groups

Objective: This study aimed to compare the subjective health status, physical activity index, and perceived stress rate of children with obesity with those of healthy children through propensity matching analysis and use the results to help manage obesity in children. Design: Descriptive correlation study. Methods: Secondary analysis was conducted using raw data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Propensity matching (1:2) was conducted between obese and healthy adolescents. Results: The number of days of physical activity was 1.22 days for the obese adolescent group and 1.01 days for the non-obese adolescent group, indicating a higher level of physical activity in the obese group (p 0.003). The subjective health status was 3.43 ＝ and 3.81 in the obese and non-obese adolescent groups, respectively, indicating increased subjective health in the normal group (p ＜0.001). No statistically significant difference was observed in the perceived stress rate (p = 0.871) or strength exercises (p = 0.190) between the two groups. Conclusion: Our results suggest the need for development measures to effectively improve physical activity, muscle strengthening programs, stress management, and subjective health status in adolescents with and without obesity.