Prevalence of Obesity among Male School Children Singh Poonam1,*, Ghuman Pramjeet Singh2, Somwanshi Devendra3 1Research Scholar, Poornima University, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India 2Professor, Poornima University, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India 3Assistant Professor, Poornima University, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India *Corresponding Author: Poonam Singh Research Scholar, Poornima University, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India Email: poonamsingh974@gmail.com
Online published on 16 March, 2018. Abstract Background Obesity is increasing rapidly and leads to changes in terms of lifestyle and nutrition, and somehow also leads to under nutrition problems due to more emphasis on reducing weight through dieting that indirectly leads to nutrients deficiency. Objectives 1. To find out prevalence of obesity among male school children. 2. To find out relationship between Obesity and SES. Material & Method A total number of 800 children (6–10 years) were selected randomly from 4 private and 4 government schools of Jaipur City, Rajasthan. Anthropometric measurements were done using stadiometer and weighing machine. BMI percentile for age and sex was used to assess obesity. Updated Kuppuswamy SES questionnaire was used to assess SES. Results Results revealed that prevalence of Obesity was higher in age group of 9 years among male children of Private and Government schools. In the private school, about 21.5% children were overweight, 20% were obese, and 6.75% were underweight respectively. On the other hand among government school, about 12% children were overweight, 9.75% were obese, and 17% were underweight respectively. Overall prevalence of obesity among children was higher among private schools in comparison to government schools. Further, significant relation was found between obesity and SES among children of private schools, whereas insignificant relationship exists among government schools. Conclusion It was concluded that obesity was more in children from private schools due to higher SES. Physical activity and fitness programmes are prerequisite in schools for betterment of health among school children. Fitness experts and dietician advice should be provided to children and should be follow up by the Physical Education teacher, coaches in school and also by parents at home. Top Keywords Obesity, Childhood Obesity, Overweight, SES, BMI. Top |