Factors related to dietary habits and body mass index among Turkish school children: a Cox's interaction model-based study.
OBJECTIVE
To report a study conducted to describe the determinants of Turkish school-aged children's dietary habits and body mass index.


BACKGROUND
Over the past two decades, children's unhealthy dietary habits and obesity have increased rapidly. Nurses have an essential role in minimizing health-risk behaviours and promoting healthy lifestyles. Using the Interaction Model of Client Health Behavior to measure children's dietary habits and body mass index values helps to prepare health-promotion interventions.


METHODS
A descriptive, correlational study.


METHODS
The study was conducted, based on a sample of 420 fifth-grade students and their parents in one city in Turkey. The data were collected during 2007 using a questionnaire designed to assess the dietary habits and anthropometric indices. Data were analysed using quantitative analysis to identify key variables.


RESULTS
The girls scored healthier on dietary habits than did the boys. Although dietary self-efficacy was statistically significant as an explanatory variable of dietary habits for both genders, the dietary attitude was the only explanatory variable of dietary habits for the girls. No difference was detected in the prevalence of overweight between boys and girls.


CONCLUSIONS
Nurses are well-situated to give children dietary self-efficacy improvement, dietary attitude enhancement, and family-centred and school-based intervention programmes to reduce their unhealthy dietary habits. The model guides researchers to identify the background characteristics of children that result in the body mass index.
Public Health Nursing Department, Dokuz Eylul University Nursing Faculty, Izmir, Turkey. meryempub@yahoo.com
Meryem Ozturk
MO
Haney
Semra
S
Erdogan
D000886:Anthropometry; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D012931:Social Environment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014421:Turkey