[Sport habits and sedentary lifestyle among elementary school children in Obuda, Hungary].
Childhood obesity has become a worldwide epidemic. Declining physical activity is one of the major contributors.


OBJECTIVE
To obtain data on Hungarian primary school students' weight status, sport club participation and sedentary behaviors.


METHODS
A cross-sectional survey was distributed to all primary schools (n=18) in Obuda, Budapest. Children (1648 boys, 1654 girls; 11.3+/-2.3 years) completed questionnaires about sedentary behaviors and sport participation. Height, weight and waist circumference were measured.


RESULTS
According to the IOTF criteria, 14.5% of the children were overweight and 4.6% were obese. The rate of those children who did not attend any extracurricular sport increased parallel with age in both gender. At the lower end of the range, 15.3% of the 9-year-old boys and 21% of the 10-year old girls did not sport. These numbers increased up to 31.0% in boys and 53.8% in girls by the age of 15 years. Screening time on weekdays and on weekends was 2.2+/-1.9 and 3.6+/-2.6 hours/day, respectively. One third of participants (32.2%) spent >2 h/day in front of a screen on weekdays, whereas 61.8% did on weekends.


CONCLUSIONS
The frequency of sedentary behaviors was high among urban Hungarian school children. Health promotion strategies should start in early ages.
Kovács
Viktória Anna
VA
Országos Elelmezés- és Táplálkozástudományi Intézet, Budapest. kovacs.viktoria@oeti.antsz.hu
Gábor
Anita
A
Fajcsák
Zsuzsanna
Z
Martos
Eva
E
D000293:Adolescent; D017677:Age Distribution; D001827:Body Height; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006814:Hungary / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D009752:Nutritional Status; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012574:Schools / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D057185:Sedentary Behavior; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012931:Social Environment; D013177:Sports / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires