Obesity frequency and related risk factors in primary school children

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the obesity and overweight situations and related factorsamong the children between the ages of 6-11 studying in Rize, Turkey.Methods: The study included 180 pediatric patients (86 girls and 94 boys) applying to our policlinic, whoborn between 2006 and 2010. The age, height, weight and gender of children and their parents, physical activitystatus of children, frequency of convenience goods consumption, education and income status of parents andduration of children spent on television were evaluated. Body mass indexes of participants were measured andcompared with their socio-demographic characteristics.Results: Obesity was found in 12.2% and overweight was found in 15% of all students participating the study.While a relation was found between being obese or overweight with gender, body mass index of parents, stayingmore than 2 hours a day in front of television, fast-food consumption and low physicial activity; no relationcould be found between the educational status of parents, time of starting supplementary food during infancyand and the duration of total breastfeeding.Conclusions: The increase in frequency of childhood obesity has been particularly important for identifyingrisk factors associated with obesity and competing with these factors in the early period. Family physicians,the first contact points of the patients, are the most important part of the health system in preventing childhoodobesity. A higher prevalence of childhood obesity than other studies in the literature may indicate that obesitywill become an increasingly common problem.