Behavioural and Psychological Variables Associated with Overweight and Obesity in Gran Canaria, Spain

Maria Luisa Álvarez-Malé*, Inmaculada Bautista-Castaño and Lluis Serra-Majem

Behavioural and Psychological Variables Associated with Overweight and Obesity in Gran Canaria, Spain.

Obesity remains a major public health problem. The potential and serious consequences that can derive from it, as well as its high prevalence in the world, justify the need to find accurate and periodic information about obesity.

The increase in obesity and overweight in children and adolescents in the past two decades is particularly alarming. According to WHO, in 2013 more than 42 million children under five years old were already overweight. Regarding the etiology of obesity, it includes genetic and lifestyle factors. In relation to lifestyle, analyzing eating habits and physical activity in the population is basic. Therefore, in this work we have studied the adherence of the participants to the Mediterranean diet. This concept was proposed and developed by Keys and Grande and was defined as a dietary pattern followed in regions around the Mediterranean (mainly Crete, Greece and the south of Italy). The principal aspects of this dietary pattern include high consumption of fruit and vegetables, olive oil as a source of fat, low consumption of meat and dairy products and moderate consumption of wine.

Regarding physical activity, scientific studies have evidenced its association with obesity in adolescents, as well as with metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, it is important
to pay attention to the amount of physical activity performed by adolescents in order to consider the development of effective obesity prevention and treatment programs.
Overall prevalence of overweight and obesity continue to be very high, especially in the Canary Islands. Therefore it is necessary to search for more effective prevention programs and treatments specifically for adolescents, which might consider the variables analyzed in this research.

Obes Res Open J. 2015; 2(1): 24-31. doi: 10.17140/OROJ-2-105

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