Prevalence and risk factors for obesity in Balearic Islands adolescents

Abstract

The aim of this work was to assess the prevalence and risk factors of obesity in the Balearic Islands' adolescents. A cross-sectional nutritional survey was carried out in the Balearic Islands (2007Islands ( -2008. A random sample (n 1231) of the adolescent population (12-17 year old) was interviewed. Anthropometric measurements, two non-consecutive 24 h recalls and a general questionnaire incorporating questions related to sociodemographic and lifestyle variables including the physical activity questionnaire were used. The prevalence of overweight was 19·9 % (boys) and 15·5 % (girls), and obesity 12·7 % (boys) and 8·5 % (girls). The main risk factors associated with a higher prevalence of obesity were low parental education level (boys OR: 3·47; 95 % CI: 1·58, 7·62; girls OR: 3·29; 95 % CI: 1·38, 7·89), to skip meals (boys OR: 4·99; 95 % CI: 2·1, 11·54; girls OR: 2·20; 95 % CI: 0·99, 4·89), age (12-13-year-old boys; OR: 2·75; 95 % CI: 1·14, 6·64), attention to mass media (television (TV) þ radio; boys OR: 1·50; 95 % CI: 0·81, 2·84; girls OR: 2·06; 95 % CI: 0·91, 4·68), short sleep (boys OR: 3·42; 95 % CI: 0·88, 13·26), low parental socioeconomic status (girls OR: 3·24, 95% CI: 1·04, 10·05 ) and smoking (girls OR: 2·51; 95 % CI: 0·88, 7·13). A programme of action including school healthy education and promotion programmes targeted at parents and adolescents are needed. These programmes may be mainly focused to increase educational level, to make the adolescents to be aware of to skip meals and to smoke are not appropriate methods to reduce the risk of obesity, but the usefulness is to do not eat while watching TV, to sleep 8-10 h/d and to be physically active.

Compliance with the 2010 Nutritional Objectives for the Spanish Population in the Balearic Islands’ Adolescents

“…Some determinants of food patterns associated with obesity and overweight have been obtained from those studies. The high prevalence of overweight and obesity among the Balearic Islands’ adolescents [24] justifies assessing compliance with the 2010 nutritional objectives for the Spanish population [2] in a representative sample of them.…”

Compliance with the Mediterranean Diet Quality Index (KIDMED) among Balearic Islands' Adolescents and Its Association with Socioeconomic, Anthropometric and Lifestyle Factors

“…This study has been described in detail elsewhere [7][8][9][10] . A multicenter study was performed in the Balearic Islands on adolescents aged 12-17. To calculate the number of adolescents to be included in the study in order to guarantee a representative sample of the whole Balearic Islands, we selected the variable with the greatest variance for this age group from the data published in the literature at the time the study was planned; that variable was the body mass index (BMI) [8] .…”

“…Three groups of eating frequency were considered: ≤ 3, 4 and ≥ 5 times/day [7,8,10] . Distraction during mealtime was also studied using different possibilities: (1) watching television (TV); (2) listen to the radio; (3) getting up from the table for some reason; (4) having a conversation during mealtime.…”

“…Distraction during mealtime was also studied using different possibilities: (1) watching television (TV); (2) listen to the radio; (3) getting up from the table for some reason; (4) having a conversation during mealtime. These variables were grouped and expressed under 2 main categories as (1) attention to mass media (TV + radio); (2) others [7] .…”

Actividad física, ejercicio y deporte en la lucha contra la obesidad infantil y juvenil

“…Aunque con alguna aportación discrepante, la mayoría de los estudios actuales evidencian una menor prevalencia de obesidad en los niños y jóve-nes que habitualmente realizan un mayor número de comidas a lo largo del día en comparación con los que realizan solo una o dos comidas principales (126)(127)(128)(129).…”