Sociodemographic and Dietary Risk Factors for Excess Weight in a Greek Pediatric Population Living in Kavala, Northern Greece

The aim of this research was to investigate the strength of potential risk factors (demography, socioeconomics, and nutrition) for childhood overweight or obesity in a pediatric population aged 11 and 12 years old from Kavala, Northern Greece. Auxologic measurements of the children included height and weight. A structured questionnaire concerning the socioeconomic status of the family, anthropometric values (weight and height) and educational status of parents, diet history, dietary habits, the availability and dietary intake of various food products and beverages at home, physical activity, time sleeping, and time watching television was completed by one of the parents of each child at home. 335 children participated (181 boys and 154 girls), with a mean age of 11.02 ± 0.60 years. The IOTF standards were used for the determination of overweight and obesity. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 33.73% and 15.82%, respectively. A significantly higher prevalence of obesity was recorded among both fathers and mothers of obese and of overweight children compared with parents of normal-weight children. Obese children had 3 meals or fewer per day in a significantly increased proportion compared with normal-weight or overweight children, whereas their meal duration was significantly reduced compared with both normal and overweight children (16.63 ± 7.15 minutes vs 20.08 ± 9.94 minutes and 19.64 ± 8.38 minutes, P = .007 and P = .02). Finally, 22.64% of obese children spent more than 3 hours per day in front of a screen compared with only 8.93% and 8.85% of normal-weight and overweight children.