PREVALENCE OF HYPERTENSION, OBESITY AND NUTRITIONAL BEHAVIORS IN PRIMARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

Abstract

Objective: Hypertension and obesity seen in childhood are among the important public health problems while creating risks for diseases in both childhood and adulthood. Nutritional habits are one of the important factors in the development of obesity. This study aimed to determine the frequency of hypertension, obesity and the nutritional behaviors in primary school students. Design and method: This descriptive research was conducted with 210 primary school students aged 6-9. The blood pressure was measured to determine the frequency of hypertension, the Feeding Behavior Scale was used to determine nutritional behaviors, height and weight were measured to identify obesity status. Results: The mean age of the children was 7.21±0.69, the systolic blood pressure was 98.2±8.69, the diastolic blood pressure was 64.30±7.25 and the body mass was 16.66±3.43. The nutritional behavior scale total score was found to be 2.48±4.18. It was detected that 12.4% of primary school students were slightly overweight and 5.2% were obese. Hypertension was detected in 4.8% of the children, isolated systolic hypertension in 2.4%, and isolated diastolic hypertension in 2.4%. It was determined that there was a relationship between body mass index and systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure (p<0.05), but there was no relationship between nutritional behavior score (p>0.05). Conclusions: It was determined that obesity rates were higher in primary school students, and the higher the body mass index, the higher the blood pressure. It can be said that interventional studies are needed to reduce obesity and hypertension in childhood.