Prevalence and some risk factors of childhood obesity

Abstract

Background and aim of the work: The aim of this stydy was to establish the prevalence of children obesity, and some potential risk factors responsible for the development of obesity among primary school students. Methods: The prevalence of  obesity in schoolchildren were measured in 6,444 children attending primary schools on the territory of the city of Novi Sad (the Province of Vojvodina, Republic of Serbia). Some potential risk factors responsible for the development of children obesity were analyzed in the sub-sample consisting of 120 randomly selected pupils and members of their families, from the total study sample. The data were obtained through basic anthropometric measurements and questionnaires. Results: Overweight were found in 11.10% of boys and 10.24% of girls and obesity were found in 5.46% of boys and 4.45% of girls. Significant differences were found between obese and normal weight children regarding the analyzed potential risk factors. Differences were found regarding to obesity of fathers (p=0.050), and affiliation to the authochtonous families (p=0.020), practiced everyday outdoor games (p=0.044), and regarding to family diet. Conclusions: Calorie surplus diet has been confirmed as the dominant risk factor for the development of obesity in the analyzed children, additional factors being factors related to the family and wider social environment.