Objective: Childhood obesity has recently become a common health problem worldwide. In the struggle against obesity, studies have focused on the risk factors playing a role in the development of obesity. In this study, we assessed the risk factors playing a role in childhood obesity and the resulting obesity in the İstanbul Bağcılar Region. Methods:In total, 250 obese children, aged 4-15 years, and 98 non-obese children of the same age were included in this study. A standardized questionnaire aimed at determining the sociodemographic characteristics, television-watching schedule, nutritional habits, physical activity, presence of obesity in the family, and duration of breastfeeding was provided to the study and control groups. Glucose, insulin, cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and triglyceride levels were measured in fasting serum samples. Homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) values were calculated. Results:The mean age of the study group was 10.71±2.69 years; there were 112 (44.80%) males and 138 (55.20%) females. The pubertal period (p=0.0001), the presence of obese individuals in the family (p=0.021), and watching television for more than 3 h per day (p=0.0001) were found to be risk factors for childhood obesity. Increased HOMA-IR (p=0.0001), increased fasting insulin (p=0.003), and decreased HDL (p=0.037) levels were the most influential parameters in obesity. Conclusion:Childhood obesity can lead to serious health problems by affecting obesity in adulthood. To initially prevent obesity requires a full understanding of the risk factors and biological and social pathways leading to obesity in early life.

Abstracts adolescents into two groups, (obese, those above the 95th percentile, which corresponds to a BMI of 30 (considered obese in adults) and non obese). Blood pressure, fasting insulin, glucose and lipid blood levels were measured. Estimates of insulin resistance (homeostatic model assessment (HOMA-IR) and the quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (QUICKI), were derived from fasting measurements. For the statistical analysis we used SPSS 20.0 (IBM Corp.). Mann-Whitney and Spearman tests were applied. Results Among the adolescents in our study 47 were obese. Obese adolescents had a higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure (p<0.001 and p: 0.04 respectively), higher blood levels of fasting insulin (p<0.001) and lower High Density Lipoprotein(HDL) (p:0.01) compared to non-obese. Insulin resistance and insulin sensitivity indexes were associated with obesity (HOMA-IR, p<0.001, QUICKI p<0.001). Conclusions Increased insulin resistance, higher blood pressure and low levels of HDL were associated with increased adiposity among adolescents. It is therefore necessary to screen for elevated blood pressure and hyperlipidaemia amongst obese adolescents.