EATING HABITS OF PRIMARY SCHOOL PUPILS AND THE PROBLEM OF OBESITY IN CHILDREN IN THE DISTRICT OF ISTRIA COUNTY

Abstract

Objective: To analyse the eating habits and physical activity of primary school pupils in the Istria County in order to assess the need to organise educational workshops for students and parents on healthy eating habits and activities for primary school students. Subjects and methods: The respondents were primary school students in Istria County. 182 respondents aged 7 to 15 participated in the research, which was conducted from May 2022 to January 2023 using a questionnaire created via a Google form. The total number of subjects included in the study according to the applied exclusion criteria was 175 (49% girls and 51% boys). The survey was analysed using descriptive statistics methods in the Microsoft Excel 2010 programme. Results: 90 male students (51%) and 85 female students (49%) participated in the study. The majority of students live in rural areas (46%), in families with multiple household members (64%). Of the parents/guardians, the majority have a high school diploma (52.29%), with mothers/guardians mostly having a university or technical university degree (67%) and fathers/guardians having a high school diploma (61%). Of the 175 students, 3 are severely obese (2%), 20 are obese (11%), 29 are overweight (17%), 9 are malnourished (5%), and 1 is severely malnourished (1%). 113 students (64%) have a normal body weight for their age. Fruit (74.86%), dairy products (68.00%), meat products (57.71%) and bakery products (56.57%) are served most frequently at school meals. Water is the most frequently consumed drink for 95% of students. Energy drinks are consumed the least frequently (6%). Just over 26% of respondents consume coffee sometimes or daily, while alcohol is consumed sometimes or daily by around 10% of respondents. Most respondents are also physically active outside of school (73%). 57% of them spend between 1 and 3 hours a day in front of a computer, mobile phone, etc., while 64% spend 1 to 3 hours a day outdoors. 67% think that their body weight is okay and 14% think that they do not eat a healthy diet. Conclusion: In addition to the problem of overweight and obesity, it was found that there are other lifestyle problems among primary school students in IŽ (malnutrition, coffee and alcohol consumption). A serious health risk due to malnutrition or severe obesity and obesity exists in 19% of respondents. The results point to the need to continuously educate students, parents and school staff about the importance of a healthy diet and regular physical activity to promote health and prevent disease.