engleski

Impact of Nutrition and Physical Activity on the Variability of Obesity in Children of the Mountain –Littoral County

Background and Aim: Unhealthy diet and physical inactivity are risk factors for obesity in children, with consequences in adulthood, which involve development of many chronic non-infectious diseases. The aim of this study was to determine whether diet, physical activity and age are predictors for obesity in children of the Mountain – Littoral County. Subjects and Methods: Subjects were pupils of the first and sixth grade of the elementary schools, and also students of second year of high schools, a total of 167, of which 92 boys and 75 girls. All study subjects were measured for body height and body weight. Nutritional status was assessed by the curves of the central distribution of body height and body weight for given age. Body mass index (BMI) was determined for second grade pupils of secondary schools. Students have completed a questionnaire about diet, and obtained data were about frequency of consumption of certain types of foods, and also about their physical activity. To determine the extent to which age, diet and physical activity predict the obesity, Pearson correlation coefficient and hierarchical regression analysis was employed in statistical analysis. Results: The results showed that age was a significant predictor of obesity ( β = -0.16 , t = -2.04 , p < 0.05 ) and prevalence of obesity decreased with age. Consumption of vegetables was significantly associated with low birth weight, regardless of gender ( r = -0.25 , p <0.05 ), while other types of food were not significantly associated with obesity. Out of all, 34 % of respondents were actively engaged in some physical activity, mainly recreational. Physical activity was not significantly associated with obesity. Conclusion: These results indicate that a need for public health prevention programs, with a multidisciplinary approach, in order to prevent or to slow down the complications that may arise in adulthood as a consequence of obesity in childhood.

Nutrition; Physical Activity; Obesity in Children

nije evidentirano