Kırıkkale'de okul öncesi eğitim kurumlarına devam eden çocukların şeker ve şeker içeren besin tüketimleri ile obezite durumlarının belirlenmesi

This study was planned and conducted in public preschool institutions in Kırıkkale province to determine 4-6 years old children‟s nutrition habits, particularly the consumption of sugar and high sugar containing foods, their parents‟ attitudes towards children's eating habits and obesity status of them. In this study, to determine the general characteristics, nutrition and physical activity habits of preschool children, the questionnaire was applied (include also food frequency) and 24-h food record for 3 consecutive days and digital photography methods were used and “Nutritional Attitude Scale” was applied to the mothers of the children. Daily energy, nutrient intake and food amounts were calculated by “Nutrition Information Systems Package Program (BeBiS)”. Anthropometric measurements (body weight, height, waist and mid-upper arm circumference) of children were measured and body mass index (BMI) was calculated. All obtained data are analyzed in the SPSS 22.0 program. Out of 307 children, 51.79% were boys and 48.21% were girls. The mean ±SD BMI values were 17.60±2.75 kg/m2 for boys and 17.39±2.66 kg/m2 for girls and 19.87% were overweight and 28.34% were obese. Childrens‟ daily energy intake and energy distribution from protein, fat and carbohydrate were found 1189.75±213.82 kcal, 16.27%, 38.56% and 45.13% respectively. Childrens‟ mean daily intake of sugar was found 6.61 ± 6.06 g, high sugar containing foods such as candy, honey, jam and chocolate were 111.69 ± 59.09 g, sweet was 98.31 ± 80.62 g and sugary drinks was 78.94 ± 91.14 g. The difference between the consumption amounts of sugar and high sugar contained foods and anthropometric measurements were found to be significant and positive relationship was determined (p<0.05). Since obesity is an important health problem to be prevented, families‟ awareness on healthy nutrition should be increased and healthy eating habits should be given to this age group children. Keywords: Sugary foods, obesity, pre-school children.