Introduction. The World Health Organisation has declared obesity and overweight an epidemic of the 21st century. Both obesity and absence of health promoting attitudes are important issues in the context of female reproductive health, a growing problem of fertility disorders, and future obstetric complications. Aim. The aim of this paper was to obtain information from girls of child-bearing age on their lifestyle, including dietary attitudes in the context of obesity, fertility disorders and obstetric complications that are inherent to dietary habits and lifestyle. The paper aims to find out priorities for actions related to reproductive health promotion. Material and methods. 93 students of high schools, aged 17–19 years old were enrolled. The study involved a medical survey on the problems girls of childbearing age have. The study was prepared by an interdisciplinary team of doctors (including a sexologist), psychologists, a dietician and teachers. The study also involved the Eating Attitudes Test-26. Results. 67.74% of the girls confirmed that diet is very important, yet 56.99% ate sweets every day, 36.56% ate fast food every day, and 45.16% had no breakfast before going to school. It was determined that 50.54% did not do any sport, and 38.71% smoked cigarettes. What is more, 30.11% of the girls have at least once been on a weight loss diet, which resulted in inhibition of menstruation in 7.53% of them. Eating attitude disorders were found in 9.68% of the young women enrolled. Conclusions. The health education standard represented by the girls is low. Their dietary habits are alarming and may in time cause adverse health problems, including overweight and obesity. Furthermore, almost 40% of the young women were smokers and more than half of them failed to exercise, which could prevent obesity, fertility disorders, and obstetric complications. According to the study, women of childbearing age should be provided with an educational programme that would include issues related to appropriate health promoting behaviours. The education should also be aimed to prevent the development of eating disorders which in turn could affect fertility disorders.

Key words: overweight, obesity, nutrition, eating disorders, fertility, childbearing age, obstetric complications.