Prevalence and Risk Factors of Obesity and Overweight in Elementary School-Age (5 to 15 Years Old) Children in South-eastern Turkey

Background: Obesity in children and adolescents is a serious public-health concern, and obesity research has become an important field of study.
Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and risk factors of overweight and obesity in elementary-school children from the first to eighth grade.
Methods: This is a descriptive, cross-sectional study. The research sample included 3,028 children from seven elementary schools selected according to stratified random sampling. The data were obtained using a demographic form and a 25-question survey. Each child’s height and weight were measured by the researchers. The data were analyzed by frequency and logistic regression in the statistical package for the social sciences and Excel programs.
Results: The children were all between 5 and 15 years old. 51.2% of the children were male, 13.4% were overweight (between 85 and 95th percentile) according to the Body Mass Index, and 8.7% were obese (above 95th percentile). Risk factors for obesity included having moderate (OR:2.57, 95%,CI: 1.10 - 6.00) or high socioeconomic status (OR:2.97, CI: 1.26 - 6.98), mother’s university education (OR:2.34, CI: 1.16 - 4.74), overweight or obese mother (OR:2.00, CI: 1.14 - 3.52), overweight or obese father (OR:1.96, CI: 1.06 - 3.62), and consuming milk pudding more than 4 times per week (OR:2.76, CI: 1.21 - 6.26). Consuming nuts more than 4 times per week was a preventive factor against being overweight (OR:0.36, CI: 0.26 - 0.78) and obese (OR:0.01, CI: 0.20 - 0.85). Risk factors for overweight included being male, traveling to school by car, mother with higher education levels, and overweight or obese parents.
Conclusions: Childhood overweight and obesity are important problems that must be resolved. Pediatric nurses can play an important role in the identification of overweight and obese children in schools. They can organize obesity-prevention programs for groups at risk.