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Child monitor St. Maarten

health of children at St. Maarten aged 4-12 years

On Sint Maarten, there is increasing concern about the growing number of children who are overweight or obese. The government aims to reduce these numbers by implementing health programs in schools to promote healthy lifestyle habits among children.

This study focuses on the six schools of the Foundation Catholic Education on Sint Maarten, which have already started such a program in their primary schools. The aim is to tailor the program to better fit the needs of their school populations by assessing children’s lifestyle behaviours.

Research question
What are the lifestyle behaviours of children aged 4-12 years from six schools of the Foundation Catholic Education on Sint Maarten?

Research methods
A questionnaire has been used with the following subjects: sleep, nutrition, oral hygiene, exercise, screen time, and health at school. The researchers distributed the questionnaire among parents of children aged 4-12 years. The response rate was 55 percent (674 out of 1,200).

Most important results

• Sleep: 24 percent of children sleep 9-12 hours per night, 73 percent sleep 6- 9 hours, and 2 percent sleep less than 6 hours. 9-12 hours is recommended by the WHO.
• Nutrition: 38 percent of children drink five or more glasses of water a day, which is the recommended amount by the WHO. 81 percent eat breakfast every day. 38 percent eat fruit daily, and 25 percent eat vegetables daily. Children in lower grades eat fruit more frequently, while those in higher grades eat vegetables more often.
• Oral hygiene: 70 percent of children brush their teeth at least twice a day, with children in higher grades brushing more frequently.
• Exercise: 69 percent of children participate in organized sports. 23 percent play outside almost every day, with younger children playing outside more frequently. 82 percent of children go to school by car, 8 percent walk.
• Screen time: on average, children have 2-4 hours of screen time per day.
• Health at school and after school care: 69 percent of parents think school should address exercise. 66 percent think after-school care should focus on healthy nutrition.

Uitgever(s): Mulier Instituut,

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Child monitor St. Maarten: health of children at St. Maarten aged 4-12 years

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Auteur(s)

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Maaike Heerschop
Suzan Nouwens
Mark Melman
Marloes van Gorp

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Tags van dit artikel

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Caribisch Nederland
kinderen
leefstijl
primair onderwijs

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