A Study to Assess the Knowledge of Control of Childhood Obesity among Mothers of School-Age Children at Maraimalai Nagar, Kancheepuram District

Abstract

In today's global scenario, there is an increasing incidence of childhood obesity due to the lifestyle changes in personal and eating behaviour which is the primary root cause of various childhood chronic diseases. The main aim of the study was to assess the knowledge of the control of childhood obesity among mothers of school-age children of 6-15years in Maraimalai Nagar. The non-experimental descriptive research design was adopted to assess the level of knowledge on the control of childhood obesity among mothers. One hundred mothers who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were selected by using a non-probability convenient sampling technique. A structured questionnaire was used to assess the demographic variables and awareness regarding childhood obesity among mothers. The study was conducted at Maraimalai Nagar. Reliability of the tool was established by a split-half method. The results reveal 17.5 % of subjects had inadequate knowledge, 81.4% had moderate knowledge, and only 1 % had adequate knowledge on childhood obesity. The study concludes that the mothers ignore to take preventive measures where their children could be a victim of child obesity. Thus, we affirmed the need for making mothers aware of the control of child obesity and how it can be prevented.