Risk factors affecting obesity development in high school students: a community based case-control study

Obesity which is described as a "global epidemics" and qualified as "excessive accumulation of fat impairing health" by the World Health Organization is an important public health problem affecting children and adolescents as well as adults. The aim of this study was to determine the factors that affected obesity in high school students in a city center.

A total of 386 students including 193 subjects and 193 controls were included in this case-control study. The data were collected by applying a questionnaire which questioned sociodemographic properties, eating and physical activity behaviors and factors which were considered to have an impact on body weight. Descriptive statistics were evaluated using chi-square and logistic regression analysis. A p value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant.

In univariate analysis, presence of an obese person in the family/neighborhood, way of transportation to school, thoughts and wish of best friend of the same sex related to body weight and desire for weight loss were defined as variables which were associated with obesity. In multivariate regression analysis, it was found that presence of an obese person in the family/neighborhood, transportation to school by vehicle and having a best friend of the same sex who wanted the subject to stay at the same weight could be predictors of obesity. In the obese group, regarding oneself as obese and desire to lose weight were more common.

In this study, it was found that presence of an obese person in the family/neighborhood, transportation to school by vehicle and having a best friend of the same sex who wanted the subject to stay at the same weight were significant risk factors in terms of obesity. However, levels of perceiving oneself as obese and desire to lose weight were found to be higher in the obese group. Consumption of unhealthy food in the home environment should be prevented by performing awareness studies for parents. In addition, physical exercises performed together by family members will be helpful for adolescents in terms of developing healthy lifestyle behaviors.