Examination of Adolescents' Attention, Appetite and Nutritional Status

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study was to examine adolescent’s attention levels, in which mood they tend to eat, eating habits and the relationship among them.

Methods: This study was conducted in February 2020 on 142 students in total, 69 (48.6%) of them girls and 73 (51.6%) of them boys who are studying at Süleymaniye Educational Institutions Bağlıca Secondary School in Turkey. Data were collected by a questionnaire with 38 questions and a 24-h dietary recall to determine the personal characteristics and the eating habits of adolescents; the D2 Attention Test was used to determine attention levels and the Emotional Appetite Questionnaire was used to identify appetite.

Results: 38.7% of the participants in the study were overweight and 23.2% were obesity. The D2 Attention test found that mean TN (total number of items processed) and CP (concentration performance) scores were positively correlated with age and negatively with Body Mass Index for age. A significant and negative correlation was found between glucose intake and the TN (total number of items processed) scores.

Conclusions: A high risk of obesity was founded in these secondary school students. At the same time, it is thought that there may be a relationship between individuals' macro and micronutrient consumption and their emotional eating tendency and attention levels. For this reason, it is important to detect and improve dietary habits of adolescence, which is a critical process for future generations.