摘要：Eating habits make up an important group of risk factors involving many diseases. For many years, there has been research carried on in various scientific and research centres with reference to eating of the population of children and youth. The results of these surveys indicate unambiguously many irregularities in the eating habits of Polish youth.Aim. To describe relationships between overweight and obesity of the rural youth and their eating habits.Material and methods. The research was carried out in randomly selected 7 districts (and schools) in the Western- Pomeranian Province. In randomly allocated 7 districts (from amongst 20), the survey covered all schools attended by young people aged between 15 and 19 from the rural environments. The analysis covered by in this paper relates to 300 young people. This is a representative sample of youth (aged over 15) residents of the rural environment in the surveyed province.Results. Of those surveyed, 30% evaluated their diet as good and 9% as satisfactory and bad. Most frequently, the youth consumed 3 and more meals daily, 56% only three meals – in the structure of body mass of those surveyed 51.6% were people with overweight and 48.4% with obesity. In the group with overweight – girls made up 54% and their number was materially larger than boys (45.9%). Those surveyed with statistically significant overweight consume 3 and more meals (59.5%) rather than 1 or 2 (8.1%) or only 3 meals (32.4%). Obese people have most frequently 3 and more meals (53.9%). Overweight people did not have breakfast materially more frequently. People with obesity had breakfast significantly more frequently. Drinking milk is a crucial problem in the population of children and youth: materially more of them do not drink (rather than drink) milk. T he g roup o f o verweight s ubjects s ignificently more does not drink (rather than do drink) milk. In the obese group as many as 78.3% do not drink milk. It is a worrying fact that 75% consume neither vegetables nor fruit. In the group with overweight significantly more do not eat those (57.6%) rather than do (32.4%). In the obese group, 87% do not eat and only 13% do eat vegetables and fruit. The consumption of sweets makes up an equally material problem: as many as 75% consume sweets (25% do not). In the overweight group as many as 64.9% consume sweets. In the obese group - 91.3% eat sweets.Conclusions. The surveyed group with overweight consume more than 3 meals a day and eat between meals. Those surveyed with obesity consume more frequently breakfast. Those surveyed with obesity consume a lot of sweets and meat, but they consume milk, fruit and vegetables very rarely
