Nutritional behaviours and body self-perception in Polish pupils attending middle-school
Journal Title: Roczniki Państwowego Zakładu Higieny - Year 2014, Vol 65, Issue 4
Abstract
Backgroud. Adolescence is a vital part of child development, where acquired eating/dietary behaviour is often associated with ones’ perception of body shape. Objectives. To assess eating habits in relation to body shape perception and esteem in middle-school (junior-high) pupils. Materials and Methods. Surveyed subjects were 170 middle-school pupils from Warsaw; 101 girls and 69 boys aged 15 years. An anonymous questionnaire was used to determine eating habits, body mass, growth and body shape perception. Anthropometric measurement cut-off points were taken according to the method of Cole et al. Results. Only 29% of pupils ate 5 daily meals; of whom there were significantly more girls than boys (35% vs 20%, p = 0.042). Girls more often consumed second breakfast than boys (p < 0.001), whilst boys ate dinner more frequently than girls (p = 0.004). Eating meals was observed in 86% all pupils, where sweets (71%) and fresh fruit (69%) were most commonly eaten. Boys ate fast-food more often than girls (p = 0.004), as well as savoury snacks (p = 0.002), sweets (p = 0.009) and sweetened fizzy drinks (p < 0.001). Girls however, consumed more low-fat foodstuffs compared to boys (p = 0.003). Overweight was more common in boys than girls (26% vs 9%, p = 0.003), whereas girls were more frequently malnourished than boys (21% vs 7%, p = 0.016). Far fewer girls were satisfied with their body shape compared to boys (51% vs 94%, p <0.001). Girls also more commonly expressed a desire for slimming, despite either having a correct body mass or being underweight. Conclusions. Many adverse and abnormal eating habits of pupils were found, especially in boys, that could lead to overweight and obesity. Subjects were found to incorrectly assess their body shape, particularly the girls, thereby leading to unwarranted slimming behaviour.
Authors and Affiliations
A. Woźniak, M. Artych
Keywords
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