ORIGINAL STUDY EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDY OF OBESITY IN CHILDREN IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND SPECIAL NEEDS SCHOOLS FROM GALATI MUNICIPALITY

Is has been noticed, the prevalence of obesity in children and adolescents in public schools and special needs schools in Galati. Of the total number of 3100 children of school age (between 7 and 18) included in this study, girls and boys, 2441 are in public schools and 659 are in special schools for children with neuropsychomotor disabilities. They all were selected in the same age category. All children found overweight or obese were evaluated based on questionnaires on lifestyle and eating habits after the correlation on BMI (Body Mass Index) value with specific growth charts for age and gender. Study results reveal that there are more overweight children in public schools than in special needs schools. The study showed that 21, 09% of children in public schools have weight problems, of which 12, 7% are overweight and 8, 35% are obese. In special schools for children with neuropsychomotor disabilities, the percentage of those who have excess weight is 10,4%, of which 4,5 % are overweight and 5,9% are obese.