Özel anaokuluna giden 2-6 yaş arası çocukların annelerine ait faktörlerin ve obezite ile ilişkili diğer faktörlerin çocukların beden kütle indeksi üzerine etkisi

Aydın, S. (2021). The Effects of Maternal and Other Obesity Related Factors on Body Mass Index Among 2-6 Years Old Private Kindergarten Preschoolers. Yeditepe University, Institute of Health Science, Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Master Thesis, Istanbul. Childhood obesity has become an increasingly important global problem. It is associated with some factors and if these factors can be intervened, its prevalence and incidence may be decreased. In preschool-age children, especially mothers are the role models of their children and responsible from their nutrition. Maternal feeding practices and other parent-controlled factors associated with obesity may have an impact on the child's development of obesity. This study aimed to examine whether maternal factors including breastfeeding, employment status, cooking at home and, other factors related to childhood obesity such as physical activity, stress factor and watching television affect the body mass index (BMI) percentile of preschool children, and to examine mothers' child feeding practices. 193 preschoolers, including girls (n=106) and boys (n=87) from four private kindergartens in Istanbul, and their mothers participated in the study. According to the results, there was a weak, positive relationship between maternal BMI and child's BMI percentile (r=0.263, p<0.05). There was a significant relationship between child's BMI percentile and daily TV watching time (p<0.05). There was a significant relationship between child's BMI percentile and the mother's thoughts if their children has excessive weight (p<0.05). Perceived child weight mean score of children with overweight BMI is significantly higher than the mean score of children with normal BMI (p<0.05). Mothers are effective on nutrition and weight of their children. Some child feeding practices and other factors also affect the BMI percentile of preschool children. Future studies can be conducted among mothers on feeding practices and how much they prefer which food groups. Keywords: Body Mass Index, Childhood Obesity, Obesity Related Factors, Maternal Factors, Child Feeding Practices.