Özet:

Aims: Childhood obesity has been defined as a very serious public health issue. It was aimed to investigate the relationship between computer game addiction and obesity in 3rd and 4th grade elementary school students. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, two separate questionnaires including demographic characteristics, physical activity, nutrition and computer game habits were applied to students and their parents. The students were also asked to fill the Computer Game Addiction Scale. Results: This study included 491 children and parents. Above the half (51.5%) were female and 69% were at normal weight. The body mass index (BMI) percentile values of children in the 8-9-year-old group were higher than those in the 10-11-year-old group (t=3.044; p=0.002). When children’s computer game addiction was evaluated, it was found that while 86.9% of them were at low level of addiction, 12.7% were at moderate level of addiction. Having an overweight brother/sister, high paternal BMI, increase in time spent on screen, and low maternal education status increased BMI percentile values in children (p<0.05). As long as the time of playing computer game increased, it was observed that BMI percentile values also increased significantly (p=0.033). Conclusions: This study shows that the level of computer game addiction and the time spent on screen are factors that increase obesity. In addition, the high level of frequency of snack in children is supportive of this result. If the ways to fight obesity are to promote physical activity and to move away from sedentary life style in children, it is clear that measures should be taken regarding the time that they spend in front of the screen.

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