Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity in Children and Adolescents in Eastern Turkey

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of overweight and obesity in school children in Eastern Turkey. METHODS This study included 9048 school children aged 6-18 years. The subjects were classified as overweight and obese, according to the International Obesity Task Force. RESULTS We found prevalence of overweight of 11.1% in the studied population. It was detected that 2.2% of the population in the study was obese; 2.1% of males and 2.3% of females. While the prevalence of obesity was extremely low before 9 ages and after 15, it reached to high values at puberty and just before pubertal period in boys. The prevalence of overweight was higher in girls and reached to peak point at pubertal ages. Generally, the prevalence of obesity and overweight was slightly higher in girls than in boys, although the boys were more obese in prepubertal ages. CONCLUSION Overweight and obesity are concerns for children and adolescents in low socio-economic status regions as well.