Introduction:
Active leisure and healthy eating habits are the basic elements of health promoting life style.

Objective:
The study was aimed at investigating the correlation between overweight and obesity incidence in children and adolescents from rural areas, and their dietary habits and low level of physical activity.

Material and Methods:
The study covered a group of 2,165 rural children and adolescents, and was conducted using an author-constructed questionnaire and anthropometric examinations (body height and weight).

Results:
The results of the study showed that the respondents did not adhere to the principles of rational nutrition: 32% of them consumed 1–2 meals per day, less than 50% did not attach importance to the consumption of the first and the second meal of the day, while a considerable percentage of respondents preferred daily consumption of sweets. The level of physical activity of the examined children and adolescents was very low. They occasionally participated in physical education classes (24.40%), while 75% of them preferred passive leisure, which had a negative effect on the incidence of overweight and obesity in a considerable group of respondents.

Conclusions:
Improper diet and low physical activity create a serious health risk for school adolescents. Health education is necessary in order to improve health awareness in this population group.