The effect of family attitudes and behaviors on childhood obesity

Obesity is defined as the increase in body weight due to the uncontrolled increase in fat tissue in the body. Obesity that occurs in childhood can also continue in adulthood and can cause many chronic diseases such as hypertension, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. Obesity, which can occur as a result of environmental and genetic factors, can cause physiological and psychological diseases. According to WHO, it is estimated that the number of obese children in the world will be approximately 250 million in 2030. This study was conducted on 110 children between the ages of 7-12 who are studying in public schools in Gaziantep and their parents. Our aim in the study is to determine the extent to which the child is affected by the family environment and the attitudes of the parents in terms of nutrition. In other words, to determine the attitude of the family in childhood obesity. The height and body weight of the children included in the study were determined in accordance with anthropometric methods. The data related to the study were obtained through a questionnaire form using the face-to-face interview technique. In addition, the Parental Nutritional Style Questionnaire (EBTA) was applied to the parents. The average age of the children is 10.2 ± 1.4 years. The mean age of the mothers was 37.42 ± 6.2 and the mean age of the fathers was 40.9 ± 6.7 years. The Body Mass Index (BMI) of the children included in the study was 17.9 ± 3.6 kg/m2 for boys and 17.5 ± 2.8 kg/m2 for girls. When BMI by age was examined, 9% of the children were obese and 16.4% were overweight. When the body weights of the parents were examined, it was found that 29.1% of the mothers were obese, 50% were overweight; 20.9% of the fathers were obese and 47.3% were overweight. A statistically significant relationship was found between the mother's BMI and emotional feeding, assisted feeding and tolerant controlled feeding (p<0.05). A statistically significant and positive relationship was found between the child's body weight, the father's age and the father's BMI and the mother's emotional feeding sub-dimension score. However, it was determined that there was a statistically significant and negative relationship between the mother's body weight and mother's BMI and the mother's emotional feeding score (p<0.05). When the EBTA sub-dimension scores of mothers were examined, it was seen that they were more prone to controlled feeding and emotional feeding. It was determined that the EBTA sub-dimension scores changed according to demographic and anthropometric measurements. As a result, the mother's attitudes and behaviors can affect childhood obesity. In order to prevent this, the employment of dietitians in family health centers and schools should be increased and the nutritional knowledge levels of both children and parents, especially mothers, should be increased. In addition, long-term observational studies with a large sample size are needed.