Düzce Tıp Fakültesi Dergisi (May 2010)
The Prevalence of Malnutrition and Obesity in Schoolchildren in the Southeast Anatolia Region of Turkey
Abstract
Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of malnutrition, obesity andoverweight, calculated by body mass index (BMI), in elementary school children in theSoutheast Anatolia Region of Turkey. Method: This research is a cross-sectional epidemiological study and elementary schoolchildren with aged 7-16 years were included randomly by layered random sampling method. Atotal of selected 20 schools and 1912 students filled the questionnaires in Diyarbakır and MardinCity Centers. A questionnaire included questions related to the educational and professionalstatus of parents, siblings, household conditions, children’s demographic characteristics andbody mass indexes, body weight and heights was applied to each student. Determined BMIswere classified according to the percentile values of Center for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC-US) growth charts and International Obesity Task Force (IOTF).Results: Mean age of 1040 boys (52,3%) and 872 girls (47,7%), totally 1912 students was10,8±2,4 years and mean BMI was 17,6±2,8 kg/m2. According to CDC classification, 7,2% ofmale students were categorized as “underweight”, 12,3% of them as “overweight”, and 3,4%of them as “obese” whereas 5,5% of them were categorized as “overweight” and 0,6% of themas “obese” according to IOTF classification. In female students, 8,4% were categorized as“underweight”, 11,1% “overweight”, and 3,3% as “obese” according to CDC classificationwhereas 5,2% were categorized as “overweight” and 1,2% “obese” according to IOTF. Theprevalences were not between boys and girls (p>0.05). Conclusion: In school children in the Southeast Anatolia Region, one of the most importanthealth problems was malnutrition; however prevalances of overweight and obesity had alsononignorable levels.
