Evaluation of physical activity, awareness of obesity and dietary behaviors among adolescents

The aim of the survey was to assess physical activity, dietary habits and awareness of obesity among adolescents aged 14-17 years in Turkey. The screening method was used for the survey. In total, 1966 adolescents (1145 girls and 821 boys participated in the survey. A personal information questionnaire (12 questions), the three-factor eating questionnaire (18 questions) and an obesity awareness and physical activity questionnaire (20 questions) were used. Independent sample T-test and One-way were used as the statistical methods and Tukey's HSD was used for the advanced analyses. The statistical significance level was adopted as p<0.05. The total scores obtained were ( =43.75±8.01) in dietary behaviors, ( =56.28±9.90) in awareness of obesity and =18.01±5.95 in physical activity level.The study found a negligible association between physical activity levels and obesity awareness levels of the respondents. There was no statistically significant association between physical activity level and dietary behaviors, and there was a positively negligible relationship between the dietary awareness component of the obesity awareness questionnaire and eating behavior at an emotional level. As regards Body-Mass Index, 22.1% of the respondents were underweight and 65.3% were normal. 12.7% were overweight or obese. The study found that eating behaviors were at medium level, awareness of obesity was above medium level and physical activity level was below medium level. The study showed that the level of physical activity had a significant effect on awareness of obesity and dietary habits of adolescents aged 14-17 years. Keywords: Adolescent, Nutrition, Obesity, Physical Activiy