Correlates of childhood obesity in Athens, Greece

Public Health Nutrition

Maria Parava¹  Areti Lagiou¹ 

关键词: Obesity;    Children;    Diet;    Physical activity;    Eating frequency;   

DOI  :  10.1017/S1368980008002462

学科分类：卫生学

来源: Cambridge University Press

【 摘 要 】

ObjectiveChildhood obesity is a growing public health problem. We have examined the association between sociodemographic profile and eating and physical activity patterns with overweight among primary-school students in Athens, Greece.DesignCross-sectional study.SettingEleven primary schools in the greater Athens area, Greece.SubjectsA total of 633 children aged 10–12 years (50 % boys, 50 % girls) were interviewed in person during spring 2003. Multivariate logistic regression was used to investigate the association between eating and physical activity patterns and overweight (≥85th sex- and age-specific BMI centile). Results are presented as odds ratios and 95 % confidence intervals.ResultsOverweight was more common among girls than among boys (OR=1·73; 95% CI 1·11, 2·69) and substantially less common among children born outside Greece (OR=0·46; CI 0·22, 0·95). Reported physical activity (per 1·5 h per day) was unrelated to overweight (OR=0·97; CI 0·85, 1·12) but patent physical inactivity, operationalised as time spent watching television or working/playing with the computer (per 1·5 h per day) was a highly significant predictor of overweight (OR=1·20; CI 1·05, 1·36). Composition of diet was unrelated to overweight but the daily number of eating occasions, controlling for total energy intake, was significantly inversely associated with overweight (OR=0·61; CI 0·48, 0·76).ConclusionsThe principal factor underlying overweight among children in Athens appears to be the extended inactivity imposed by modern childhood lifestyles. An intriguing finding is that spreading a given energy intake over several eating occasions was inversely associated with the likelihood of childhood obesity.

【 授权许可】

Unknown