Objective: To identify Greek families in which all members were overweight or obese (XXL families) and to describe their profile with regard to their socioeconomic status and their eating behaviours and practices. Design: A prospective cohort study. Setting: The metropolitan area of Kavala. Subjects: We recruited children aged 11 and 12 years from twelve primary schools, and their parents, from volunteers. Auxologic measurements of the children included height and weight. A structured questionnaire pertaining to information on the socio-economic status of the family, anthropometric values and educational status of parents, dietary habits and the availability of various food products and beverages at home, as well as dietary intake, physical activity, time spent sleeping and time spent watching television, was filled in by one of the parents of each child. A total of 331 families finally participated. Results: In sixty-one families (18?43 %) both parents and child were either overweight or obese (XXL family), and in seven of these families all members were obese. Only twenty-eight families (8?46 %) had all members with a normal BMI. The XXL family was associated with lower educational status of both parents, whereas a higher percentage of XXL families resided in rural areas and had lower income. Skipping breakfast and spending more than 3 h in front of a screen every day were more frequently observed in XXL families. With regard to the availability of various food products and beverages at home, no significant differences were observed between XXL families and the rest of the studied families. Conclusions: Greek XXL families have lower educational status and lower annual income.
Background Obesity represents a worldwide leading health problem. Although the proportion of adolescent obesity is continuously rising, yet little is known considering adolescent’s opinions regarding this condition. Aim To investigate adolescent’s perceptions in relation to various aspects of obesity in a prospective cohort study. Subjects and methods The study population included primary school adolescents, 11–12 years of age. Anthropometric measurements of participants included height and weight. Overweight and obese participants were classified using the International Obesity Task Force criteria. A structured questionnaire assessing physical activity, dietary habits, parental guidance regarding dietary intake and psychological aspects in relation to social functioning, body weight and image was completed by each adolescent. Results Three hundred and thirty-five adolescents (181 boys) formed the study group. Obese participants were found to have significantly fewer friends (p = .050) and preferred indoor sedentary activities (p = .041). No differences were observed within the groups when questioned about their eating habits in terms of appetite and hunger. The majority of participants reported frequent consumption of homemade snacks in school resulting in no significant difference within the groups. Finally, body weight satisfaction was recorded for only 5.66% of the obese children, 25.66% and 68.64% of overweight and normal-weight participants respectively. Conclusions Our findings support the notion that adolescents are perfectly capable of expressing their opinions. When planning interventional programs for the management of adolescent obesity their views should be strongly considered.
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