Nutritional Knowledge and Practices, Lifestyle Characteristics and Anthropometric Status of Turks and Caicos Islands Elementary School Children.

OBJECTIVES

To assess nutritional status, knowledge, practices and lifestyle characteristics of Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) primary school children.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

Sociodemographic, nutrition knowledge and lifestyle information were collected via an interviewer-assisted questionnaire from grade 5 to 6 participants in a cross-sectional survey; anthropometrics were collected by trained interviewers.

RESULTS

Two hundred and ninety-seven students (mean age = 10.91 ± 1.01 years; female = 162 [54.5%]; overweight/obese = 121 [40.8%]) participated. Most were born (61.8%) or resided in TCI for more than five years (76.1%). Dietary patterns of breakfast (75.8%); ≥ 2 meals/day (81.2%); ≥ 1 snack/day (65%) and consumption of vegetables (14.5%) and fruits (27.3%) ≥ 2/day were reported. Multinomial regression examined lifestyle and sociodemographic characteristics among body mass index (BMI) categories. Breakfast-eaters were 54% less likely (OR = 0.46; p = 0.025) to be obese; consumers of < 3 meals/day were approximately twice more likely to be obese (OR = 2.074; p = 0.02); participants who "ate out" < 2 times/day (including lunch) were less likely to be overweight (OR = 0.365; p = 0.02). More boys reported strenuous activity (p = 0.05) while more girls reported moderate activity (p = 0.004). No vigorous exercise for ≥ 4 days/week was associated with obesity (OR = 2.0; p = 0.03). Most (> 80%) knew the food groups and that non-communicable diseases were related to diet and obesity (> 70%).

CONCLUSION

Findings should inform policy, via the "Health in All" policy initiatives, to develop multisectoral interventions to positively impact children's nutritional status and ultimately eliminate obesogenic environments.