Prevalence of Obesity among 11-14 Years Old Students in Sivas-Turkey

Abstract

This study was performed to find out the prevalence of obesity among 11-14 years old children in Sivas province. BMI values higher than 95 percentile were accepted as being obese and those in between 85-94 percentile are accepted as overweight. Of the 2701 students; 3.1% were found obese, while 7.5% were overweight, and 7.6 were underweight according to their BMI values. Underweight children among the age of 14 yrs old children was significantly higher than the others. Obesity among boys were significantly higher than in girls. Prevalence of obesity was found higher in the children of high-income families and among children who gobbling. Underweight subjects were significantly higher among children who don`t dine regularly and those who eat once a day. In conclusion; prevalence of obesity among children in Sivas is not high yet, and undernutrition seems to be a more serious problem than obesity.