Childhood Obesity in Public and Private Middle School Students

Abstract

Background: Obesity is defined as the syndrome in which excessive fat deposits in the adipose tissues, which affects the normal functioning of the body. Childhood obesity is the great challenge these days. In Pakistan recent study on children 10-15 years of age shows high prevalence of childhood obesity. The present study will help to inform the community regarding the frequency and percentage of overweight and obese children in middle standard schools. Objective: Objective so this study were to identify the recent estimate of frequency of obesity in middle school students in year 2017 and then to compare the frequency of obesity in public and private sector schools. Material and methods: This Descriptive cross sectional study was conducted in 2 private schools of Sahiwal and 2 government schools of Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. About 324 children (81 from each school) were recruited randomly and interviewed about their physical activities. Height and weight were measured and BMI was calculated. Children were distributed in different BMI group and obesity as assessed. Results: The mean age of children in government school was 13.01 ± 1.09 years while in private school was 12.75 ± 1.08. 50% were females from government school and 50% from private school. 50% were male students from government school and 50% from private schools. The mean BMI of participants was 18.48 ± 3.36 kg/m2 in government school while 20.14 ± 3.66 kg/m2 in private school. When frequency of government and private school was compared results shows that out of 162 students from each school, 13 (8%) in government schools and 24 (14.8%) in private schools are overweight, while 8 (4.9%) in government schools and 17 (10.5%) in private schools are obese. Conclusion: High frequency of obesity and over weight in children of middle schools was noted. This frequency is greater in students of private schools both males and females as compared to students of government schools both males and females. Keywords: Obesity, school going Children, private school, government school, body mass index, height, weight