IJCM_127A: A comparative study of knowledge and perception among school going adolescents regarding various food habits and prevalence of overweight and obesity in government and private schools in Mangalore

Abstract

Background: Adolescence, 10-19 years is a vulnerable age where eating behaviours are inculcated. Adult health and size are determined by the adolescents dietary habits. The poor health & diet choices by adolescents is a result of lack of knowledge about Glycemic Index, Trans Fats, etc. Thus, educating them at this mouldable age is important. Objectives: 1) To study the knowledge and its retention among adolescents of 8th-12th standard after interactive education about food habits and lifestyle changes. 2) To identify the prevalence of overweight and obesity among high school students in various private and government schools. Methodology: An intervention study was conducted in 441 adolescents of 8th- 12th standard in government and private schools. In first interaction BMI and questionnaire on awareness, perception and practise on diet was filled by participants and educational material on same was shared and their knowledge retention was assessed after 2 months and the results were compared between government and private schools. Results: In terms of age, the majority of subjects fall into the 14-year-old category (37.3%), and 15-year-old (33.2%). In terms of class, the largest proportion is in 9th and 10th class (36.4%). Gender distribution shows majority of females (57.5%). Father’s educational status reveals a significant percentage of graduates (48.4%), while mothers have a high school education (59.3%). Majority follow a non-vegetarian diet (64.3%) and reside in urban areas (54.8%). Lastly, the distribution of BMI categories indicates that a significant portion falls within the normal range (48.2%), with rest as overweight (30.2%), obese (20.7%), and underweight (0.9%). Mean scores of pre and post intervention were compared and statistically significant difference (p=<0.001) was noted. Conclusion: Adolescents are at higher risk of overweight and obesity. Nutritional education reinforcement in this period has significant impact on reduction of Non-Communicable Diseases. Knowledge intervention in this study had similar result.