Relationship between internet addiction and obesity among high school students

Aim: The aim of this study is to determine the relationship between internet addiction and obesity in the students of the 9th, 10th and 11th grade of a high school in Balçova, İzmir of 2018-2019 academic year. Methods: The population of this cross-sectional study is composed of 461 students of the 9th, 10th, 11th grade of a high school in Balçova, İzmir of 2018-2019 academic year. A sample was not chosen, it was aimed to reach the whole population. The dependent variable was the presence of obesity and it was determined in line with Body Mass Index related percentiles calculated by making measurements. In order to determine the internet addiction which was the independent variable, the Internet Addiction Scale was used. Possible confounding factors were age, gender, socio-economic status, eating characteristics, physical activity status, obesity in the family and sleep routine. 391 of the students were contacted (Contact rate was 84.8%). Data collection forms were distributed to the students and the researcher explained how to fill out to the form and the students had 20 minutes to fill out the form. The physical education teacher measured their height and weight and recorded in the questionnaire forms. The descriptive data percentage distributions and mean±standard deviations were presented. In causal analyses, Chi Square and Logistic Regression Analysis were used. Results: Average age of the participants was 15.9±0.8 (15-17), and 53.5% of them were girls. According to the percentile of the students, more than 12.8% of them were overweight and 10% of them were obese. According to the Internet Addiction Scale, while 81.3% of them showed no symptoms, 18.2% of them showed limited symptoms and 0.5% of them were Internet addicts. When revising in univariate analyses according to variables (gender, obesity in the family, junk food consumption) for which significant relationships were found, it was 9.2 times riskier of being overweight or obese in those showing internet addiction or limited symptom than those who were not internet addicts (OR=9.19, p<0.001, 95%CI= 4.90-17.23). Conclusion: One in four students in the high school was overweight or obese, one in five is showing limited symptom or internet addiction. Moreover, it was found that the internet addiction in high school students posed risk for obesity. Key words: High school student, internet addiction, obesity.