Nutritional habits and obesity Primary school students in Sinop the northernmost point of Turkey


Creative Commons License

Cabar H. D., Özeren G. S., Altay B.

JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL AND CLINICAL MEDICINE, cilt.31, sa.1, ss.13-17, 2014 (Scopus)

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 31 Sayı: 1
  • Basım Tarihi: 2014
  • Dergi Adı: JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL AND CLINICAL MEDICINE
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Scopus
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.13-17
  • Ondokuz Mayıs Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

conditions which arise with the increase in fat tissue is generally called obesity. The

World Health Organization (WHO) defines obesity as the abnormal or excessive accumulation

of fat in the body such that it endangers health. A combination of environmental

and genetic factors rather than an organic illness underlie most cases of pediatric obesity.

The aim of this research is to examine the nutritional habits and obesity conditions of

primary school students. This descriptive study was carried out on all students in primary

schools affiliated to the Sinop Provincial Directorate of National Education, from May

10th, 2010 to May 10th, 2011, after gathering all necessary permissions. The research comprises

3352 students who agreed to take part in the research; there was no sub-selection

within the sample. After examining the percentile assessment of the participating children,

the following categorization has been made: 7% (under five) underweight, 78.4%

(between 5-85) normal, 8.7% (between 85-95) overweight and 6% (95 and over) obese.

Examining the children’s BMI according to gender found that 9.6% of boys and 7.6% of

girls were overweight, and 7.6% of the boys and 4.3% of the girls were obese, a higher

rate of excessive weight in boys than in girls. As a result, it is suggested that nurses should

continue an effective counseling service to enable children’s sufficient and balanced nutrition,

that they cooperate with the families while carrying out this service, and consider

social factors that increase tendencies to obesity. It is also suggested that further research

should be done on the relationship of parents and children.