RESEARCH PAPER
Lifestyle as an important factor in control of overweight and obesity among schoolchildren from the rural environment
 
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1
Department of Health Education, University of Szczecin, Poland
 
2
III Chair of Paediatrics, department of Paediatric Endocrinology and Diabetology, Medical University, Lublin, Poland
 
3
Department of Health Promotion, Food and Nutrition, Institute of Rural Health, Lublin, Poland
 
4
Institute of Rural Health, Poland
 
5
Chair and Department of Epidemiology, Madical University, Lublin, Poland
 
 
Ann Agric Environ Med. 2012;19(3):557-561
 
The lifestyle of an individual is responsible for 60% for his/ her state of health [1]. Lifestyle may be health promoting or anti-health. Many studies of this problem show that among children and school adolescents, living in both the rural and urban environments, anti-health behaviours unfortunately dominate over those that are health promoting [2]. However, the lifestyle of the rural adolescents differs in some aspects from the lifestyle of their urban contemporaries [3]. Overweight and obesity concern adolescents living both in the rural and urban areas [4]. Overweight and obesity are a great epidemiological problem among adolescents both in Poland and worldwide. Both overweight and obesity are risk factors of many diseases, such as: cardiovascular diseases, some types of cancer, type 2 diabetes, hyperlipidaemia or gastrointestinal diseases [5]. Researchers warn that if the situation in this area does not change, the average life span will become shorter [6]. Overweight and obesity at the age of adolescence increase the risk of occurrence of obesity in adulthood [7]. British studies confirmed that an increase in body weight during the period of puberty enhances the risk of falling ill with cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes, while this risk is smaller when body weight is maintained on the level of BMI within 20-23.9 kg/m 2 [8]...
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
Introduction:
Lifestyle of an individual is responsible for sixty percent of his/her state of health. Many studies of this problem indicate that in the style of life of schoolchildren, anti-health behaviours dominate over health promoting behaviours.

Objective:
The objective of the presented study was recognition of the lifestyle of the rural adolescents with overweight and obesity.

Material and Methods:
The study covered adolescents aged 15-19, living in the rural environments of the West Pomeranian Region. Finally, the analysis covered 2,165 schoolchildren, and was performed with the use of a self-designed questionnaire form and the BMI was applied.

Results:
The study showed that overweight occurred more often in the group of examined girls than boys, while obesity was twice as frequent among boys than among girls. Overweight schoolchildren (35.1%) had an adequate diet, while those obese – inadequate (78.3%). In the group of schoolchildren with overweight, passive leisure prevailed over active forms of leisure, 83.8% and 16.2%, respectively. Passive leisure was also dominant among obese respondents. Among as many as 81.8% of schoolchildren with overweight, physical activity was mediocre, while only 8.1% of them were active. The highest percentage of respondents with obesity were totally inactive physically. Obese schoolchildren relatively often experienced stressful situations. It is an alarming fact that both overweight and obese schoolchildren relatively often used psychoactive substances.

Conclusions:
A considerable number of respondents with overweight and obesity applied an adequate diet, preferred passive forms of leisure, experienced stressful situations, were characterized by low physical activity, and systematically used psychoactive substances.

 
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ISSN:1232-1966
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