A study on food pattern intake and prevalence rate of overweight and obesity among school students in Zagazig city

Abstract EN

Study aims to assess the eating habits and its relationship with the prevalence of overweight and obesity in a sample of school students in Zagazig city, Egypt.

A cross-sectional survey of 100 students (males and females) aged 12-17 years, who were chosen randomly during the school years 2018-2019.

Students were asked to fill out a self-reported questionnaire that included questions on their eating, drinking, their weight, and height.

Body mass index (BMI) was used to assess students' weight status.

The results showed that 20.0% of the students were overweight, 14.0% were obese, while (54.0% ) were of normal weight (30.0% of males compared to 24.0% of females), and 12.0% were underweight.

Eating habits of the students showed that the majority (78% ) was eating breakfast irregularly (42.0% of rural student compared to 36.0% urban student).

Almost of students (66.0% ) reported eating three meals per day (36.0% of rural student compared to 30.0% urban student).

Obesity and overweight were prevalent among rural student; irregular and infrequent meals together with low vegetables intake and frequent snaking were the most common unhealthy eating habits of the participants.

Also, obese and overweight students were significantly reported higher frequency of soft drinks, although there was an apparent negative association between soft drink and obesity, on re-categorization, overweight-obese subjects consumed soft drinks at higher frequency (60.3% on daily or several/day vs.

30.9% among the lean subjects), sweets and candy (49.3% vs.

35.8% ), cakes/ cookies/doughnut and alike foods (49.6% vs.

27.1% in the lean students) and potato chips/popcorn/and other packed foods (29.0% vs.

6.5% in the lean students).