Assessment of causes of childhood obesity in 11 year-old Maltese children

Abstract

Objective The aim of this study was to show the rate of childhood obesity in 10 – 11 year old Maltese children attending year 6 in local primary schools in and to investigate whether a correlation exists between body mass index (BMI) and activity, screen-time, soft drinks consumption and sleep patterns in a cohort of Maltese children. Methods 103 boys and girls (47% and 53% respectively; mean age 10.4 years) were sampled from four different primary schools serviced by the state, Church and independent entities. The students’ height and weight were measured to determine their BMI. A questionnaire which dealt with the four areas under study was then distributed to all the participants. Data was analysed to determine whether the correlations under investigation were present. Results A negative correlation was found between BMI and (i) the number of different physical activities the students engaged in weekly, (ii) the average number of times that the students carried out these physical activities per week and (iii) the average number of hours of sleep per night reported by the children. A positive correlation was found between BMI and sugar-sweetened soft drink consumption. There seems to be no correlation between BMI and the different number of forms of screen-time the students engaged in or the total number of hours of screen-time although descriptive data shows that both factors increase with increasing BMI. 46 | P a g e Conclusion Similar studies on a larger cohort of participants should be considered in the future. The effect of involving parents, educators, general practitioners, paediatricians and other health care providers in the fight against childhood obesity should also be the primary focus of other studies.