Interrelation between obesity, oral health and life-style factors among Turkish school children

Abstract

Obesity, dental caries and periodontal diseases are among major public health concerns which may affect children's growth and development. This study seeks any clustering between obesity, oral health and life-style factors among school children in Istanbul, Turkey. A cross-sectional study of children, 10- to 12-year-olds, from a public and a private school was undertaken with questionnaires for children and their mothers and child oral health data, in Istanbul (n = 611). DMFS (number of decayed, missing and filled surfaces of permanent teeth), CPI (Community Periodontal Index), body mass index (BMI) and life-style factors (tooth-brushing frequency, milk consumption at breakfast and bedtimes on school nights) of children were examined. Data analysis included factor analysis, Student's t test and Chi-square tests by cross-tabulation. Public school children were more dentally diseased but less obese than were those in private school (P < 0.001). They more frequently had calculus (62%) and reported non-recommended tooth-brushing (68%) than did those in private school (37%, 56%; P < 0.05). Principal component analysis revealed that DMFS, CPI and BMI shared the same cluster among all children. A need exists for addressing obesity, oral health and nutrition jointly in health promotion strategies to improve children's well-being and empower good life-style factors.

Association Between Nutritional Status and Dental Caries in Brazilian Teenagers with and without Risk for Eating Disorders

“…Previous research developed in Turkey [29] showed that children from public schools had lower average BMI than children from private schools.…”

“…Another study that examined the relationship between BMI and dental caries also found no association between these variables [29], although its sample included both genders and different age group (10-12 years). However, a study conducted in Saudi Arabia [35] found partial positive correlation between BMI and DMFT analyzing men and women aged 18 years or older.…”

Obesity and dental caries: systematic review

“…9,10 The classifi cation of BMI showed no uniformity. Nine studies used the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) for age and sex and seven assessed BMI through percentiles developed in the United States to determine the population's standard weight (Center for Disease Control and Prevention -CDC 2000).…”

“…5,[8][9][10]15,19,[22][23][24]27,29,33,36,40,41 Eight studies included adjustments for age and sex, 6,19,23,27,29,33,36,41 two only for sex, 15,22 and fi ve for consumption of any type of food, such as soft drinks, 10,24 fruits or snacks between meals, 10 "fast food", 10 and milk, 9 as well as daily sugar consumption 19 and "snack" consumption more than three times a day. 29 Among the 28 articles, 13 were considered to have good scientifi c evidence according to the criteria of Downs & Black.…”

Interrelationship Between Childhood Obesity and Pediatric Dentistry: A Literature Review

“…Çalışmalardan bazıları pozitif ilişki tespit ederken (33-37), bazıları negatif ilişki tespit etmiştir (38)(39)(40)(41)(42). Bir kısım çalışma ise herhangi bir ilişki bulamamıştır (43)(44)(45)(46)(47).…”