Childhood Obesity: Examining BMI, Body Fat, Food Preferences, and Physical Activity

Abstract

        Childhood obesity has become one of the most serious health challenges of today’s world. Food preferences, physical activity status, family, and school offerings of the child play an active role in the development of obesity. This study aimed to determine the body composition of children aged six to nine years and to evaluate the possible factors causing obesity such as food consumption and physical activity. The study was conducted in İstanbul, Üsküdar with 371 primary school students and their parents. Separate questionnaires including food consumption, physical activity, sleep, and breastfeeding were applied to students and their families. Of the children, 13.7% (n=51) were overweight and 23.2% (n=86) were obese. Body mass index (BMI) of children was found to have a positive correlation with the body weight of their parents, childbirth weight, and time spent on computer/television whereas it had a negative correlation with sleep duration (p<0.05). Body fat percentage was found to be lower in children of high-income families (p<0.05). Children found to be overly consuming foods such as wafers, chocolates, and candy. In conclusion, the factors causing obesity in children should be evaluated as a whole, they should be developed for the health improvement, and parents, children, and staff in schools should be trained in this regard.

Keywords

• Obesity,BMI,Childhood Obesity,Food Preferences,Anthropometric Measures

References

1. [1] Karaçor, S., Tunçer T., and Bulduklu, Y., (2018). The Relationship Between increase of Child Obesity and Advertise of Food and Drink. PESA International Journal of Social Studies, 4(1):134-141.
2. [2] Nutrition Guide to Turkey (TUBER), (2015). Turkish Republic Ministry of Health. Publication No:1031, Ankara.
3. [3] Aycan, Z., (2016). Childhood Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome. Turkish Journal of Pediatric Disease, 10(3):1-1.
4. [4] Çağıran Yılmaz, F., Çağıran, D., and Özçelik, A.Ö., (2019). Adolescent Obesity and Its Association with Diet Quality and Cardiovascular Risk Factors. Ecology of Food and Nutrition.
5. [5] Suarez-Balcazar, Y., Agudelo Orozco, A., Mate, M., and Garcia, C., (2018). Unpacking Barriers to Healthy Lifestyles from The Perspective of Youth with Disabilities and Their Parents. Journal of Prevention & Intervention in the Community, 46(1):61-72.
6. [6] Delisle Nyström, C., Henriksson, P., Alexandrou, C., and Löf, M., (2016). The Tanita SC-240 to Assess Body Composition in Pre-School Children: An Evaluation Against the Three Component Model, Nutrients, 8(6):371.
7. [7] Hales, C.M., Carroll, M.D., Fryar, C.D., and Ogden, C.L., (2015–2016). Prevalence of Obesity Among Adults and Youth: United States.
8. [8] Paglia, L., Friuli, S., Colombo, S., and Paglia, M., (2019). The Effect of Added Sugars on Children’s Health Outcomes: Obesity, Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSAS), Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Chronic Diseases. European Journal of Paediatric Dentistry, 20(2):127-132.

9. [9] Yılmaz, S.K. and Özel, H.G., (2016). The Relationship Between Sugar Sweetened Beverage Consumption and Obesity Risk in School Age Children. Journal of Nutrition and Dietetics, 44(1):3-9.
10. [10] Larkin, H., Shields, J.J., and Anda, R.F., (2012). The Health and Social Consequences of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Across The Lifespan: An Introduction to Prevention and Intervention in The Community. Journal of Prevention & Intervention in The Community, 40(4):263-270.
11. [11] Nittari, G., Scuri, S., Petrelli, F., Pirillo, I., di Luca, N.M., and Grappasonni, I., (2019). Fighting Obesity in Children from European World Health Organization Member States. Epidemiological Data, Medical-Social Aspects, and Prevention Programs. La Clinica Terapeutica, 170(3):e223-e230.
12. [12] Turkish Republic Ministry of Health, General Directorate of Primary Health Care Services, Hacettepe University Faculty of Health Sciences, Nutrition and Dietetics Department and Ministry of Education, (2011). Growth Monitoring in School-Age Children (6-10 age group) Project in Turkey (TOCBI) Research Report, Ministry of Health Publication No: 834, Ankara.
13. [13] Yılmaz, A.A., Özaydın, E., Demirel, F., and Köse, G., (2016). A Retrospective Evaluation of The Factors Contributing to Obesity and The Existence of Metabolic Syndrome in Adolescents. Journal of Pediatrics Turkey, 3:157-161.
14. [14] Barreira, T.V., Staiano, A.E., and Katzmarzyk, P.T., (2013). Validity Assessment of a Portable Bioimpedance Scale to Estimate Body Fat Percentage in White and African–American Children and Adolescents. Pediatric Obesity, 8(2):e29-e32.
15. [15] Pietrobelli, A., Andreoli, A., Cervelli, V.T., Carbonelli, M.G., Peroni, D.G., and De Lorenzo, A., (2003). Predicting Fat-Free Mass in Children Using Bioimpedance Analysis. Acta Diabetologica, 40(1):s212-s215.
16. [16] World Health Organisation (WHO). BMI-For-Age Girls 5 to 19 Years (percentiles). (Dec 2019). https://www.who.int/growthref/bmifa_girls_5_19years_per.pdf?ua=1. [17] World Health Organisation (WHO). BMI-For-Age Boys 5 to 19 Years (percentiles). (Dec 2019). https://www.who.int/growthref/bmifa_boys_5_19years_per.pdf?ua=1. [18] McCarthy, H.D., Cole, T.J., Fry, T., Jebb, S.A., (2006). Prentice AM. Body Fat Reference Curves for Children. International Journal of Obesity, 30(4): 598.
17. [19] World Health Organisation. Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative Highlights 2015-17. (Dec 2019. http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/372426/WH14_COSI_factsheets_v2.pdf?ua=1.
18. [20] Turkish Republic Ministry of Health, Turkey Public Health Agency, Ministry of Education and Hacettepe University. Turkey Childhood (7-8 years) Obesity Research (COSI-TUR) 2013. Ministry of Health Publication No. 920.
19. [21] Wang, Y., Ma, L., Zhao, L., Gao, L., Xue, H., Wan, L., et al., (2019). National Policies and Intervention Programs on Childhood Obesity Prevention in China. P22-018-19.
20. [22] Ramírez, A., Bernal, O., Rodríguez J., and Pinzon, J.D., (2016). Morbidity Due to Obesity, Hypertension and Diabetes II Attributable to Non-Breastfeeding and Low Birth Weight during The 1000 Days of Life: Estimation of The Population Attributable Fraction. Health, 8(05):386.
21. [23] Savaşhan, Ç., Erdal, M., Sarı, O., and Aydoğan, Ü., (2015). Obesity Frequency in School Children and Related Risk Factors. Turkish Journal of Family Practice, 19(1):2-9.
22. [24] Turnbull, B., Gordon, S.F., Martínez-Andrade, G.O., and González-Unzaga, M., (2019). Childhood Obesity in Mexico: A Critical Analysis of The Environmental Factors, Behaviours and Discourses Contributing to The Epidemic. Health Psychology Open, 6(1): 2055102919849406.
23. [25] Vollmer, R.L. and Baietto, J., (2017). Practices and Preferences: Exploring The Relationships Between Food-Related Parenting Practices and Child Food Preferences for High Fat and/or Sugar Foods, Fruits, and Vegetables. Appetite, 113:134-140.
24. [26] Gezmen-Karadağ, M., Yildiran, H., Köksal, E., and Ertaş Öztürk, Y., (2019). School Teachers’ Awareness about National Obesity Prevention Programs in Turkey. Ecology of Food and Nutrition, 1-11.
25. [27] Kim, H.S., Park, J., Ma, Y., and Im, M., (2019) What Are the Barriers at Home and School to Healthy Eating?: Overweight/Obese Child and Parent Perspectives. The Journal of Nursing Research, 27(5):e48.
26. [28] Özilbey, P. and Ergör, G., (2015). Determining The Prevalence of Obesity in Primary School Students and Eating Habits in Izmir. Turkish Journal of Public Health, 13(1).
27. [29] Akçay, D. and Yıldırımlar, A., (2018). Opinions of Parents About The Foods Sold in School Canteens. Journal of Balıkesir Health Sciences, 7(1):14-22.
28. [30] Ahmed, J., Alnasir, F., Jaradat, A., Al Marabheh, A.J., and Hamadeh, R.R., (2019). Association of Overweight and Obesity with High Fast Food Consumption by Gulf Cooperation Council Medical Students. Ecology of Food and Nutrition, 1-16.
29. [31] Kim, J., Kim, G., Park, J., Wang, Y., and Lim, H., (2019). Effectiveness of Teacher-Led Nutritional Lessons in Altering Dietary Habits and Nutritional Status in Preschool Children: Adoption of a NASA Mission X-Based Program. Nutrients, 11(7):1590. [32] Dawson-McClure, S., Brotman, L.M., Theise, R., Palamar, J.J., Kamboukos, D., Barajas, R.G., and Calzada, E.J., (2014). Early Childhood Obesity Prevention in Low-Income, Urban Communities. Journal of Prevention & Intervention in The Community, 42(2):152-166.