The effects of overeating, socioeconomic status and modern practices: a structural equation modelling approach to obesity in teenage girls

Abstract

<jats:p>This study investigates the effects and the relationship between the factors that cause childhood obesity. Several practices such as increased consumption of sweetened drinks, fastfoods, eating while watching television (TV), skipping breakfast, reduced family meal times and lower consumption of healthy foods accelerate the rate of childhood obesity. Media playsa major role in the lives of millennials. Recent studies have established that there is an increase in obesity rates in low socioeconomic groups which indicates that it is an importantfactor to be considered while developing the model. Structural equation modelling (SEM) is a quantitative model approach which brings out the relationships between various factors.Exploratory factor analysis is used to examine the SEM model. The latent variables are over eating, socio economic status and modern practices. The observed variables are family income,educational qualification of parents, physical activities, stress, BMI, food practices, consumption of junk food, consumption of vegetables and media availability. The sample consists of school and college students (n=250) in Vellore-Tamil Nadu between the ages 13-18. The data collection was conducted through Questionnaires. SPSS (Statistics &amp; Amos) software is used for SEM modelling. The proposed model is found to be an acceptable fit.</jats:p>