Determination of Nutrition and Physical Activity Status of Early Adolescents in Secondary Schools in Anatolian Side of Istanbul

Ergün, Can; Koç, Bilge; Urhan, Murat

doi:10.1080/03670244.2019.1689127

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

References 27 publications

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“…This is not the case for groups formed by gender. In terms of gender, no statistically significant differences were found in levels of physical activity and dietary habits, finding of previous studies employing similar samples of subjects [34][35][36], who confirmed that there are no differences between adolescent children in terms of macronutrient intake and food consumption, i.e., that they have similar dietary habits. In contrast to the results of the study conducted among the children and adolescents from Europe (HELENA study) [37], the current study showed that the children consume significantly less nutrients and have a much worse lifestyle when it comes to physical activity and eating habits.…”

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confidence: 75%

Nutrition and Physical Activity Behavior in 11–14-Year-Old Schoolchildren in Serbia

Cvetković

Petrušič

et al. 2021

Children

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Regular physical activity and healthy diet have a significant positive impact on children’s health. Lack of physical activity increases the risk of various diseases, while obesity has become an alarming health problem worldwide. The aim of this study is to investigate the patterns of physical activity and diet among 11–14-year-old school children in Serbia. The sample included 623 primary school children, of whom 333 were boys (53.45%) and 290 were girls (46.55%). The children were also divided according to their age/grade: fifth grade/11 years (24.40% (n = 152; M = 84, F = 68)), sixth grade/12 years (25.68% (n = 160; M = 91, F = 69)), seventh grade/13 years (26.81% (n = 167; M = 83, F = 84)) and eighth grade/14 years (23.11% (n = 144; M = 75, F = 69)). Children’s lifestyle was assessed using two subscales of questionnaires based on the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile model II. The Mann–Whitney U test showed no statistically significant difference between boys and girls in the variables Nutrition (p = 0.81) and Physical Activity (p = 0.91). The Kruskal–Wallis test was applied and showed no statistically significant differences between children of different ages, regardless of gender, in the variable Nutrition (p = 0.63). However, differences were evident in the variable Physical Activity (p < 0.001), with the highest mean scores recorded in 12- and 13-year-old children and the lowest in 14-year-old children. Additionally, no statistically significant differences were found among boys as a function of age in the variables Nutrition (p = 0.55) and Physical Activity (p = 0.15), nor among girls in the variable Nutrition (p = 0.43), but in the variable Physical Activity (p = 0.01). In general, it can be concluded that the older primary school children have relatively satisfactory dietary and physical activity habits, but that these behaviors decrease with age, especially the level of physical activity. There is a need for better and more effective education of children about the benefits and importance of proper nutrition and regular physical activity.

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