From the University Agenda

70% of children quit sports by the age of 14

According to ISTANBUL(UAV) -World Health Organization health statistics, 24.8 percent of children aged 6-9 in Türkiye are obese, while 40 percent of children in sports schools in Istanbul are in the overweight-obese category. In addition, children quit sports at the rate of 70 percent until they reach the age of 14. Assoc. Prof. Mehmet Soyal stated that the biggest reason for children to quit sports is family pressure, while Dietitian Hande Nur Onur Öztürk stated that children can be directed to healthy nutrition with the price policy in school canteens.

According to published statistics, more than 1 million people in the world are obese, including 880 million adults and 159 children. While one out of every eight people was obese in 2022, adult obesity has doubled and adolescent obesity has quadrupled. 37 million children under the age of 5 are overweight, 390 million children and adolescents between the ages of 5-19 are overweight, and 160 million are obese. Turkey ranked first in Europe in obesity, diabetes and inactivity. Istanbul Gelisim University Faculty of Sports Sciences, Head of Coaching Education Department Assoc. Prof. Mehmet Soyal and Faculty of Health Sciences and Department of Nutrition and Dietetics Asst. Prof. Hande Nur Onur Öztürk explained the tricks to be considered in the fight against obesity.

"Provide basic movement training from the age of 3 to avoid inactivity"

Assoc. Prof. Mehmet Soyal said, "According to TURKSTAT data, it is seen that boys in Turkey exercise for 38 minutes a day, while girls exercise for 12 minutes. After the age of 18, this figure drops to 12 minutes for boys and 5 minutes for girls. When we evaluate this, we see that the sports culture and consciousness do not live in our country very much. Especially from the age of 3, children should be given basic movement training. Then you can refer them to whichever branch they are professionally prone to. Recently, the awareness of directing children to sports has increased. "

"Family pressure is the first reason for children to quit sports"

Commenting on the fact that children quit sports at the rate of 70 percent until they reach the age of 14, Assoc. Prof. Mehmet Soyal stated the following:
“Family pressure is among the first reasons for this. Incorrect training loading and conveying the opinion that academic success is more important is also an important factor. Unfortunately, during the play and learning period of children, families also expect sportive success from them. This causes mental pressure and disability in children. It can naturally cause it to cool down from sports or movement process. "

"When children exercise, it does not affect their academic success"

"We need to invest in our young people for our future. The beginning of this investment is that our children act in the logic of life-long sports with exercise and sports. When children exercise, it does not affect their academic success. On the contrary, it can express itself much more in academic achievement as well as being free from sociological, physiological and postural disorders. They can gain practical thinking skills. In this regard, we can say that exercise and sports are of great importance."

"One of the reasons why there are so many overweight people in Istanbul is traffic"

Providing nutritional recommendations,  Asst. Prof. Hande Nur Onur Öztürk, one of the reasons why there are so many overweight people in Istanbul is that we actually spend a lot of time on the road. No matter how much we correct our nutrition, the time allocated to us somehow goes in traffic. This causes us to sit constantly and stay in the same position. When we think that children go to school by car and shuttle, it is the inevitable end. That's why it's so important for your kids to exercise. The second important thing is nutrition.”

"Price policies at school are important for healthy nutrition"

"If food is already provided at school, it is given according to the instructions of the ministry," said Asst. Prof. Hande Nur Onur Öztürk and added: "It is actually very important to reduce the prices in school canteens in order to increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables, especially in a way that is more suitable for children's access. It is very important to make a change in the price policy, especially in terms of providing milk and fruit and vegetables to children. Traditional meals are the healthiest. We have a nutrition model called four-leaf clover. Within this group, in fact, the nutrients that each individual should consume within a day are classified as milk group, meat group, whole grain group, fruit and vegetable group."