Revista Ciencias Biomédicas (Jan 2014)
NUTRITIONAL STATUS, SEDENTARY LIFESTYLE AND FAMILIAR CHARACTERISTICS IN ENROLLED IN SCHOOL CHILDREN WITH AGES BETWEEN SIX AND TEN YEARS (IN SPANISH)
Abstract
Introduction: the rising in the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children is an increasing problem that should be measured correctly in all the populations. Even in developing countries where the child malnutrition is causal of important morbidity, the excessive malnutrition should be estimated. Objective: to describe the nutritional status, dietary habits, the sedentary lifestyle and the familiar characteristics in enrolled in school children. Methods: Descriptive study where 53 448 children of both genders, between six and ten years of age, students of private schools from Cartagena, Colombia were taken as reference population. A sample of 283 children was estimated. The tool of dietary habits of the school population of the Perseo program was used. The hours/ day and the days/week of the following sedentary activities were estimated: To watch TV, to be in front of the PC and to play games. The familiar characteristics related to composition, type, vital cycle and functionality of the families were identified doing the familiar APGAR. Weight and height of the school children were taken and the relationships height/age and body mass index/age were calculated to establish the nutritional state. Data was analyzed with the statistical program Epi-Info7. It is an anonymous study without risks, with informed consent of the parents and approval of the educational institute. Results: the 47.6% of the schoolchildren presented malnutrition problems by excess (obesity and overweight), while 44.5 % of the schoolchildren between six and seven years had appropriate nutrition. 92.9% of the studied children belonged to families with good function and 54% to families of nuclear type. The dairy products, egg, fish, soft-drink and beverages, starches and sugar were of high consumption. The most predominant sedentary activity was to watch TV. Conclusion: Half of the schoolchildren presented malnutrition by excess, overweight or obesity. The presence of the two nutritional alterations was increased with the rise of the age. Rev.cienc.biomed. 2014;5(1):71-78 KEYWORDS Nutritional status, Family practice, Food habits, Sedentary lifestyle.
