General nutritional status and physical activity profile in adolescents

This study was carried out with a total of 227 students consisting of 131 female and 96 male students at Anamur Anatolian High School in Anamur province of Mersin. The data of the study, which was planned as descriptive, were collected from the surveys conducted between April and May 2019. Within this scope, the socio-demographic status, general nutritional habits, health status and physical activity profiles of the students were determined. SPSS 20 program was utilised for the statistical analysis of the findings. Mean, standard deviation, number and percentage values were obtained from collected data. Chi-square test was used to analyse the findings. The P value <0,05 was considered as significant difference between the groups. Evaluated findings showed that the average age of the participant students was 15,6±1,06. When the education level of the families of the students was examined, it was found that 37% of the mother and 30.8% of the father were primary school graduates. It was also found that 48.5% of the students utilised the internet as a source of nutrition information. It was determined that 22.5% of the students applied special nutrition program. When their status of obtaining information about nutrition programs was analysed, it was observed that 9.4% of the students utilised a dietician while 8.3% of the students utilised the internet. It was found that 86.3% of the students consumed less than 3 or less than 3 meals and 57.7% of the students skipped main meal. It was found that there was a statistically significant difference between the male and female students in having breakfast (p <0.05). It was observed that 15.2% of the female students who skipped breakfast due to inappetence, 10.4% of the male students did not have time. It was observed that students consumed fish less frequently, chicken and red meat. It was determined that the frequency of consumption of vegetables was low and the consumption of fruits, dried fruits and oilseeds was high. Although the frequency of egg consumption of male students was higher than female students, it was determined that students consumed eggs at low levels. It was determined that 33.92% of the female students and 31.28% of the male students added sugar to their drinks. A statistically significant difference was found between male and female students' regular physical activity (p <0.001). It is noteworthy that boys do more physical activity than girls (65%). It was found that 49.4% of the students who performed regular physical activity did less than 1 hour per week. There was a statistically significant difference between the female and male students in terms of physical activity status (p <0.001) and frequency (p <0.002). When the time spent at the computer is examined; There was a significant difference between male and female students (p <0.001). It was found that the percentage of students going to school on foot was low and the majority slept 6-7 hours a day.