Childhood obesity has become a worldwide epidemic. Declining physical activity is one of the major contributors.
Aim: 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.