Obesity-Related Factors in Turkish School Children

OBJECTIVE To determine the prevalence of obesity and its risk factors in Turkish children. METHOD This cross-sectional survey was conducted on students including 1271 boys and 1206 girls selected from 20 secondary schools in Samsun, Turkey. A predesigned questionnaire was used to elicit the information on individual characteristics. The height and weight of students were measured in their classroom. Obesity was defined as body mass index at or above the 95th percentile for age of the sex-specific CDC growth charts. RESULT The mean age was 12.8 ± 0.9 years, and the prevalence of obesity was found at 10.3%. There were higher numbers of obese students in boys than in girls (X(2) = 53.4; P < 0.001). The prevalence of obesity was 10.0% and 16.8% in public and private school students, respectively. The percentage of obese children in students who skipped breakfast was found to be higher than that in the group that consumed 3 meals a day regularly. There was no difference at time spent in sedentary behavior except watching TV, and prevalence of obesity in the group of students watching television over 3 hours per day was higher than that in their counterparts (X(2) = 13.6; P < 0.01). The time of engagement in sports was lower in obese group statistically (F = 8.9; P < 0.001). CONCLUSION In order to prevent childhood obesity, monitoring children's lifestyle by parents is necessary.