The relationships among diet, physical activity and obesity in Adolescence (Ages 14-19)

In general, obesity is having higher levels of body weight than the desired level for the height of the individual as a result of increased body fat mass. Today, obesity is among major health problems in developed and developing countries. Its rate increases each passing day and it brings about significant health and economic problems. Also, diseases that are caused by increased body fat mass affect the individual's quality of life. Obesity emerges due to many factors. With the industrialization that entered into our everyday lives, machines perform the heavy work and it pushes people to a passive life. Higher food energy intake than the individual spends, genetic and hormonal factors, medications and irregular sleep patterns lead to obesity. Children and adolescents, who are in there developmental periods, are in grave risk of obesity. This study is conducted to understand the relationships among diet, physical activity and obesity in high school students aged between 14 and 19 in 2014-2015 academic year. Mann-Whitney U and Chi-square tests were used to analyze the data in SPSS. A questionnaire about dietary habits, the types of food in each meal and physical activities in different environments was given to pupils. Pupils from two high schools in Istanbul province took part in the study. The sample consisted of 152 female and 209 male pupils, 361 participants in total. After measuring the height and weight of all participants, their BMIs (Body Mass Index) were calculated. BMIs were classified according to the age and sex of the participant. According to these calculations, the rate of obesity is 0.8% in females, 3.9% in males, and 4.7% in total. The highest rate of obesity is in 15-year-olds with a rate of 28.8%. As for the consumption of meals, 59.2% of adolescents had breakfast, 69.2% had lunch, and 85.3% had dinner. In other words, more than half of the adolescents surveyed regularly consume the three main meals. When the adolescents are studied in terms of their physical activity, obese participants were found to spend more time on computer and reading. There were no significant differences between obese and non-obese adolescents. In summury, the results of study showed that the rate of obesity was low, and that dietary habits and physical activity did not directly affect obesity. Keywords: Adolescent, Nutrition, Physical Activity, Obesity