The prevalence of overweight and obesity in primary schoolchildren and its correlation with sociodemographic factors in Aydin, Turkey

Abstract

Çalışır H, Karaçam Z. International Journal of Nursing Practice 2011; 17: 166–173 The prevalence of overweight and obesity in primary schoolchildren and its correlation with sociodemographic factors in Aydin, Turkey The purpose of the study was to determine the correlation of the prevalence of overweight and obesity among children in primary schools of central Aydın province with certain sociodemographic characteristics and the prevalence of overweight and obesity in the children's families. The study was cross‐sectional and descriptive, and was done with 460 children aged 8–11 years. Study data were collected using a questionnaire. The study determined the children's overweight prevalence as 12.8% and their obesity prevalence as 13.7%. It was found that having a family with four or fewer members increased the risk of overweight and obesity (odds ratio (OR) = 1.889; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.086–3.287), that the mother's education level of secondary school or less decreased the risk of overweight and obesity of children (OR = 0.458; CI = 0.268–0.780), and that the greater the mother's (OR = 1.069; CI = 1.008–1.133) and father's (OR = 1.127; CI = 1.049–1.210) body mass index, the more pronounced was the children's risk of being overweight. This study showed that the prevalence of overweight (12.8%) and obesity (13.7%) is high among children aged 8–11 years, and that this condition is correlated with the number of family members and the parents' body mass index.