Lifestyle, Overweight and Obesity in a Population of Adolescents From Havana
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14306/renhyd.16.2.93Keywords:
Body weight, Overweight, Body composition, Adolescents, Physical activity, Sedentary life style, Dietary habits, Eating habitsAbstract
Introduction: The high prevalence of overweight and obesity is a health problem in Cuba, and there is a lack of information on adolescents. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the relationship between excessive weight and adiposity with physical activity, hours of television (TV), and eating habits in adolescents.
Material and methods: A total of 604 adolescents (12 years) from Havana were studied. The variables analysed included, body mass index, body composition, history of obesity in infancy, physical activity, hours watching television, eating habits and dietary preferences. A descriptive and correlation analysis was performed. In the logistic regression analysis, excess weight and adiposity were used as dependent variables.
Results: Excess body weight was more common in boys. There was high prevalence of excess adiposity, 49.8% in girls and 37.8% in boys. The boys (61.7%) were more active than the girls (33.6%). Just under half (46.7%) of the boys, and 55.9% of the girls spent more than 2 hours/day watching television, which increased to more than 75% for both sexes on Saturdays and Sunday. Making less than 5-6 meals/day doubled the risk of being overweight. Body overweight in infancy was also a risk factor. Not having breakfast increased the risk of adiposity by almost double.
Conclusions: Excess weight, and particularly excess adiposity, may be considered a health problem in the adolescents studied. A very high consumption of sugar, an excessive time watching TV, and insufficient physical activity was observed.
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