Dietary Intake, Eating Behaviors and Food Insecurity among Obese Palestinian Children and Adolescents in Gazan Schools

Abstract

The double burden of malnutrition can be clearly shown among food insecure children. Not only do they show micronutrient deficiency, but they also show increased obesity rates. Many factors influence the incidence of obesity among these age groups, including dietary intakes, eating habits and household food insecurity. Finding the correlation between dietary habits, and eating behaviors and linking them with household food insecurity may contribute in figuring a clearer understanding of obesity onset among this age group. Exploring the intermediate causes and associated factors that contribute to the increasing incidence of obesity may help lower the burden of malnutrition among children and adolescents. This is a cross-sectional study; one hundred and thirty obese children and adolescents enrolled in Gazan schools will be recruited to measure their dietary habits, eating behaviors and household food insecurity. A structured questionnaire will be used. The data obtained will be analyzed using SPSS version 20. Consent forms will be obtained from fathers and mothers.