Öz
Aim: This research aims to evaluate the prevalence of obesity and nutritional habits in children aged 6-15 in a district of Istanbul.
Method: This is a cross-sectional study conducted with 2452 students aged 6-15 in 19 primary schools in Avcılar district of Istanbul. A face-to-face questionnaire was applied about the children's nutrition habits and food consumption frequencies. Children's height, weight, waist and hip circumference measurements were taken. Children were categorized according to Z-scores. Statistics were made using the SPSS 21 program.
Results: A total of 47.8% of students were boys, 52.2% were girls. The mean age of the students was 9.47±2.21 years, average BMI was 18.7±3.73 kg/m2. Overweight and obesity prevalence was 20.3% and 13.2%, respectively. The obesity prevalence of 9-y-old was at the highest level, and males were more obese than females (p<0.001). A significant difference was found between obese and non-obese students in terms of snacking while studying and watching TV, and the frequency of some food consumption (p<0.05).
Conclusion: It was found that one out of every three children was overweight. In addition to national and international policies, regional and local follow-ups and taking necessary precautions may be beneficial in controlling childhood obesity.
Teşekkür
The author thanks E.Merve Kurtuluş for her opinions and Yasin Ünal for support on measuring devices. Also the author thanks the Nutrition and Dietetics students of Istanbul Gelişim University for their help in taking the questionnaires and anthropometric measurements.