Professor Emel Alphan, head of Education at the Health Education Faculty of the Marmara University, and Researcher Suleyman Avci, conducted a survey on 186 children frequenting the Kartal Technical Education Center.

The children were aged between 15 and 19, and 76 of them were girls. It was found that the children, both girls and boys, were "considerably" underweight and much shorter than average.

The survey, conducted in May 2003, demonstrated that 62 percent of children working in confectionery and hair dressing, worked more than 12 hours a day. It also showed that three out of four children skipped one meal a day.

The working children, who mainly feed on cakes, biscuits, bread, soup, rice and macaroni, do not have enough intake of minerals such as calcium, and proteins in their teenage years, when they the fastest pace of growth takes place.

Nutrition is moth important for growth

Prof. Alphan said growth was affected by factors such as genetical structure, sexuality, hormones, environmental factors, and social-economical conditions. However, she added that the most important factor is nutrition.

Alphan said inadequate nutrition and energy, negatively affects the concentration and attention of the workers and increases the risks of accidents at the workplace.

56 percent of the children and their mothers were elementary school graduates, while 39 percent were uneducated. 64 percent of fathers were elementary school graduates, and 15 percent were uneducated. Almost all mothers were "housewives," whereas 37 percent of fathers were laborers.

Six percent of the children surveyed worked eight hours a day, while 62 percent worked more than 12 hours. When calculated through the Body Mass Index (BMI), 39 percent of the girls, and 29 percent of the boys were "underweight." The girls were an average 160.8 centimeters tall, and the boys were 169.8 centimeters. The girls weighed an average 51.6 kilograms and the boys weighted an average 58.4 kilograms. (EU/BB/EA/YE)