RESUMEN
INTRODUCTION: Childhood obesity has increased dramatically in the past few decades both in developed and developing countries. The objectives of this study were to estimate the prevalence of increased weight in children and adolescents on a remote Greek island in the Aegean Sea, and to assess the factors influencing this phenomenon. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted involving children and adolescents aged 8-16 years, resident on the island of Kalymnos, Greece. Their height and weight were measured in the school environment. Information about the children's leisure habits, a plain dietary history, whether they were exposed to tobacco smoke at home, parental nutritional status and socioeconomic status were collected via a written questionnaire. Obesity was defined according to the International Obesity Task Force curves. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analysis were conducted in order to identify any factor correlated to increased weight. RESULTS: In total, 232 children took part in the study (91.6% participation), and 20.6% (n=48) were classified as overweight while 8.1% (n=19) were obese. The majority of the children (85.9%) had been breastfed and 45.6% (n=106) were exposed to smoke at home. In the multivariable analysis, statistically significant terms associated with childhood increased weight were: maternal obesity, maternal occupation and weekly consumption of sugar-sweetened soft drinks. CONCLUSIONS: The high prevalence of increased weight in children and adolescents on this remote island is part of the major global public health problem. The evidence suggests that maternal nutritional status and occupation, together with children's dietary habits, are associated with childhood body weight.
