Obesity and overweight are two of fastest growing public health problems. Both can be avoided to a large extent with preventive measures (balanced nutrition and healthy lifestyle). Because of that, we decided to explore, how different factors affect them. The survey included 1483 children and adolescents from Slovenian (657) and Vojvodina (826) schools, 784 primary school students and 699 secondary school students. We found out, that adolescents often skip meals (breakfast is the most skipped meal). Factors supposed to have the impact on BMI include gender, age, region and frequency of breakfast consumption. The influence of other factors on BMI was not confirmed. The knowledge of respondents about food and nutrition was most influenced by age, and less by country or geographical region and place of residence. There was no statistically significant differences in nutritional awareness of respondents. Eating habits vary between regions, but there is no single factor, that affect them the most. Based on our research, we can conclude that there are differences between both regions. However, it is clear that with proper nutrition and lifestyle, it is possible to positively influence BMI and thus health of individuals.
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