Department of Dietetics, Faculty of Human Nutrition and Consumer Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences WULS-SGGW, 159c Nowoursynowska Str., 02-776 Warsaw, Poland.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018 Dec 26;16(1):52. doi: 10.3390/ijerph16010052.
Proper nutrition is a key element in maintaining normal body weight in children and one of the most important factors influencing their optimum development, growth, and health in the future. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to identify environmental factors which affect health behaviors of children aged 7⁻14, contributing to the occurrence of diet-related diseases. The study was performed with participation of 892 school children. The investigated environmental factors were as follows: the place of residence, maternal education level, and the level of family income. A questionnaire was used to collect the data from mothers. The study indicated a prevalence of overweight and obesity among children of 13.9% and 1.2%, respectively. Being underweight applied to 20.0% of examined children, more often to girls. In terms of nutritional behaviors an insufficient consumption of vegetables, fruit, whole grain products, dairy products, and fish was observed. The frequency of vegetable and fruit consumption significantly decreased with an increase in child's body mass index (BMI) (G = -0.110, < 0.05 and G = -00.114, < 0.05). Overall, 29.7% of children devoted less than 30 minutes a day to physical activity, besides the physical education classes at school. Boys were more often physically active than girls (G = 0.205, < 0.0005). There was a positive correlation between frequency of vegetable (G = 0.167, < 0.0005) and fruit (G = 0.155, < 0.005) consumption and mothers' education level. Girls ate fruit more frequently than boys (G = 0.116, < 0.05). Higher family income was associated with more frequent whole grain consumption (G = 0.095, < 0.05), while living in the city was negatively correlated with activity (G = -0.121, < 0.05) and dairy consumption (G = -0.186, < 0.005). Continuous investigation of environmental factors affecting children eating behaviors may help to bring benefits in increasing the effectiveness of health promotion and educational programs.
适当的营养是维持儿童正常体重的关键因素之一，也是影响他们未来最佳发育、成长和健康的最重要因素之一。本横断面研究的目的是确定影响 7⁻14 岁儿童健康行为的环境因素，这些因素导致与饮食相关的疾病发生。该研究共有 892 名学童参与。研究的环境因素如下：居住地点、母亲的教育水平和家庭收入水平。使用问卷从母亲那里收集数据。研究表明，儿童超重和肥胖的患病率分别为 13.9%和 1.2%。80.0%的受检儿童体重不足，女孩更为多见。在营养行为方面，观察到蔬菜、水果、全谷物产品、乳制品和鱼类的摄入量不足。蔬菜和水果的消费频率随着儿童体重指数（BMI）的增加而显著降低（G = -0.110， < 0.05 和 G = -00.114， < 0.05）。总体而言，29.7%的儿童每天用于体育锻炼的时间少于 30 分钟，除了学校的体育课。男孩比女孩更经常进行体育活动（G = 0.205， < 0.0005）。蔬菜消费频率（G = 0.167， < 0.0005）和水果消费频率（G = 0.155， < 0.005）与母亲的教育水平呈正相关。女孩比男孩更频繁地吃水果（G = 0.116， < 0.05）。较高的家庭收入与更频繁地食用全谷物有关（G = 0.095， < 0.05），而居住在城市与活动（G = -0.121， < 0.05）和乳制品消费（G = -0.186， < 0.005）呈负相关。持续调查影响儿童饮食行为的环境因素有助于提高健康促进和教育计划的效果。
