Nutritional status of Romanian population and interventional programs to prevent obesity

Abstract

Our work present data on the nutritional status of adult population of Romania in 2015 and the results of the school-aged children surveillance through the national surveillance program 2015 and also from two international programs - the European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative (COSI), the national report 2013 and the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children Program (HBSC) from 2014. The assessment of the nutritional aspects and health of adult population in relation to food consumption investigate the eating behaviours through consumption rates of nutrients and the main food groups, as well as anthropometric indicators of subjects included in the study. The data for 2015 show a decreased energy intake through food consumption, insufficient intake of dietary fiber and minerals (calcium, magnesium and selenium) and a high intake of proteins and total fats, especially saturated fats and cholesterol. The salt intake was situated above the WHO and European Commission's recommendations: more than 5 g / day - added salt and a total consumption of 10 g salt / day. These dietary mistakes are reflected in the increased percentage of the overweight subjects (43,1% men, 36,2% women respectively) and obese (30% men and 27,2% women). The COSI survey included 8-year-olds children from both rural and urban regions of Romania and the findings are as follows: 26,75% of the children included in the study are overweight or obese; the prevalence of childhood obesity is 11,64%, with a higher rate of obesity in urban areas. The results of the HBSC study in 2014 indicate that a percentage of 26,6% of boys and 11,8% of girls aged 11, 13 and 15 years old are overweight and / or obese. These facts are the basis of the national interventional programs concerning the promotion of a healthy nutrition and lifestyle among population in order to reduce obesity and morbidity through cardiovascular diseases.