Abstract
Background: The prevalence of child obesity is increasing rapidly worldwide as well as Turkey due to skipped main meals and increased snacking. The objectives were to study the prevalence rates of overweight and obesity in a group of Turkish children, and to analyze the relationship between eating habits and lifestyle and obesity. Methods: The study was carried out in 6 schools in urban regions in the city of Eskisehir, Western Turkey between February and May2008. Atotal of 1421 students aged 7 - 14 years (708 boys and 713 girls) were examined. Eating habits and life-style were obtained by evaluation of a standard set of 15 questions prepared using the literature. Results: Most obese students reported having a snack in the afternoon, not spending at least five hours of leisure time per week in physical activities, being high income level, that their mother’ education level was university, eating less fruits, eating less vegetables, having more dessert after any meal, eating more potato chips, watching television more, living a physically active life less, less breast feeding, that their father consumed alcohol, that their father was overweight/ obese, their mother wase overweight/obese (statistically important relationships for each one). Conclusions: A small portion of 7 - 14-year-old Turkish children are at increased health risk owing to overweight and obesity in an urban po- pulation in a developing country.
Highlights
The prevalence of child obesity is increasing rapidly worldwide as well as Turkey due to skipped main meals and increased snacking
With the prevalence rates being higher in girls than boys, overweight/obesity were associated with decreased physical activity participation and increased television viewing time
Increased dietary intake from eating during viewing or from the effects of food advertising, decreased energy expenditure during viewing, and reduced energy expenditure from television viewing displacing physical activity may be an explanation for this [24]. These results emphasize the importance that leisure-time physical activity or athletic movement and watching TV less play in the childhood obesity epidemic. We determined that both boys and girls were physically inactive in a proportion of about 90% and our findings support the hypothesis that physical inactivity is implicated in obesity, as there was a trend for increased overweight and obesity with decreasing physical activity participation in boys and girls [25]
Summary
The prevalence of child obesity is increasing rapidly worldwide as well as Turkey due to skipped main meals and increased snacking. The prevalence of child obesity is increasing rapidly worldwide [2] This phenomenon is often reflected in skipped main meals and increased snacking. Physical activity patterns have changed as a result of an increase in time spent watching television, the advent of video games and the internet, and a decrease in the opportunities for physical activity in schools and communities [5] Put it differently, exogenous obesity is due to an increase in food intake, a decrease in total or resting expenditure, or some combination maintained over time [6,7]
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