Children in hospital in Ireland - what do they eat and what do they weigh: a cross-sectional study

BMC Research Notes

Clodagh S O’Gorman³  Colum Dunne³  Des Leddin³  Walter Cullen³  Alan P Macken¹  Aisling Flinn² 

[1] Centre for Interventions in Infection, Inflammation & Immunity (4i), Graduate Entry Medical School, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland;The Children’s Ark, University Hospital, Limerick, Ireland;Graduate Entry Medical School/Scoil Leighis Iontrála Iarchéime, Faculty of Education & Health Sciences/Dámh an Oideachais agus na nEolaíochtaí Sláinte, University of Limerick/Ollscoil Luimnigh, Limerick/Luimnigh, Ireland

关键词: Nutrition;    Hospital;    Children;    Obesity;    Overweight;   

Others  :  1165752
DOI  :  10.1186/1756-0500-5-491

 received in 2012-05-29, accepted in 2012-08-23,  发布年份 2012

【 摘 要 】

Background

Overweight and obesity is a growing problem in Ireland. Many parents are unaware when their child is overweight or obese. Our objectives were to examine parents’ perceptions of a healthy diet and their children’s BMI; and to evaluate the food offered to children in our paediatric in-patient unit.

Findings

A retrospective questionnaire was distributed to 95 patients and their families admitted over one month. Seventy-eight had BMI values calculated (42 males, 36 females). Twenty-one children (26.9%) were overweight/obese: 14/21 parents (66.7%) thought their child had a normal weight. Sixty percent of children served dinner in the hospital were given fried potatoes. Four had fruit/vegetables. Forty-six parents brought food into hospital, of these 14 brought purchased food.

Conclusions

This study highlights the problem of child obesity in Ireland and parental underestimation of this problem. The nutritional value of food served to children in hospital needs to be improved and hospital admissions used as opportunities to promote healthy eating habits.

【 授权许可】

   
2012 Flinn et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

【 图 表 】

Figure 1 .

Figure 2 .

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