ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to determine and compare the prevalence of obesity
among private and public basic school pupils in the Asante Akim central municipality
using a cross sectional survey. A total of 200 children from private and public schools
were selected using the simple random sampling technique. Data were collected using
a structured questionnaire, a food frequency questionnaire, the Physical Activity
Questionnaire for Children (PAQ-C) and anthropometry. The data obtained from the
structured and food frequency questionnaires were analyzed using the Statistical
Package for Social Sciences software (SPSS version 20) to generate frequency and
percentage distributions. Data from the PAQ-C was analysed using the PAQ-C scoring
manual to determine the physical activity levels of the school pupils. BMIs of the
pupils were computed using the Microsoft Excel software. The WHO BMI-for-age
reference chart was used to classify the nutritional status of pupils. The Pearson
correlation coefficient was used to test five hypotheses at 5% level of significance
(p=0.05). The age of the pupils ranged between 9 and 15 years with a mean age of
11.9±1.46. Almost all (95%) the parents or guardians of pupils were employed with
40% of them being traders. Over three quarters of the pupils in both private and public
schools (91% vs 81%) ate at least 3 meals daily. Foods consumed on daily basis
included corn, rice, bread, meat, fish, gari, plantain, oranges, bananas, tomatoes,
onions, pepper and refined vegetable oil. Seventy three percent (73%) of private pupils
and 83% of public pupils ate at least one snack a day. Snack foods consumed were
biscuits, ice cream, pastries and sugar flavored drinks. The main physical activities
pupils engaged in for exercise weekly were walking, jogging, dance, skipping, soccer and ‘‘ampe’’. Even though public school pupils had a higher physical activity level
than the private school pupils, the level of physical activity was generally low among
the study sample. Only 22% achieved the recommended moderate activity level. The
study revealed an overall obesity prevalence of 5.5%, overweight prevalence of 17%
and a thinness rate of 3%. Overweight and obesity were higher among private pupils
than in public pupils. From the study, 74.5% of the study sample were classified as
normal. From the hypotheses tested, there was a significant difference in the physical
activity levels of the pupils, there was no significant difference between obesity and
the socio- economic status of private and public pupils. Also, there was no significant
difference between the socio-economic status of parents of pupils in private and public
schools and finally, there was a statistically significant difference between obesity
rates of private and public school pupils. Based on the findings of the study it was
concluded that, the combined prevalence of overweight and obesity was 22.5%. The
types of physical activities usually engaged in by school pupils were walking, jogging,
dance, skipping, soccer and ‘‘ampe’’. Though public school pupils had higher physical
activity levels than the private school pupils, physical activity levels among both
groups was generally low. It was therefore recommended that parents and school
authorities assist pupils through the formation of nutrition clubs to make practical
efforts to achieve normal body weights by improving their dietary practices through
the eating of balanced meals and exercise.
CDR, C (2021). A Comparative Study Of Overweight And Obesity Among Basic School Pupils From Selected Schools In The Asante Akim Central Municipality.. Afribary.com: Retrieved April 15, 2021, from https://afribary.com/works/a-comparative-study-of-overweight-and-obesity-among-basic-school-pupils-from-selected-schools-in-the-asante-akim-central-municipality
Coalition, CDR. "A Comparative Study Of Overweight And Obesity Among Basic School Pupils From Selected Schools In The Asante Akim Central Municipality." Afribary.com. Afribary.com, 08 Apr. 2021, https://afribary.com/works/a-comparative-study-of-overweight-and-obesity-among-basic-school-pupils-from-selected-schools-in-the-asante-akim-central-municipality . Accessed 15 Apr. 2021.
Coalition, CDR. "A Comparative Study Of Overweight And Obesity Among Basic School Pupils From Selected Schools In The Asante Akim Central Municipality.". Afribary.com, Afribary.com, 08 Apr. 2021. Web. 15 Apr. 2021. < https://afribary.com/works/a-comparative-study-of-overweight-and-obesity-among-basic-school-pupils-from-selected-schools-in-the-asante-akim-central-municipality >.
Coalition, CDR. "A Comparative Study Of Overweight And Obesity Among Basic School Pupils From Selected Schools In The Asante Akim Central Municipality." Afribary.com (2021). Accessed April 15, 2021. https://afribary.com/works/a-comparative-study-of-overweight-and-obesity-among-basic-school-pupils-from-selected-schools-in-the-asante-akim-central-municipality