Prevalence of Daily Physical Activity and Obesity Among Students Grade 5th and 6th

Abstract

Background: One of the most pressing threats for children’s health status is overweight and obesity. Previous literature indicates that increasing relative body mass index (RBMI) is accompanied by physical inactivity. Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of daily physical activity and obesity among students grade 5th and 6th. Patients and Methods: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study carried out to determine the distribution of daily physical activity according to gender and relative body mass index in overweight and obese children. We randomly selected 12 primary schools and studied their health profiles, including body mass index (BMI) and RBMI. We then selected those who were in the range of overweight and obesity based on the National Centre for Health Statistics (NCHS). Daily physical activities of the subjects were assessed by a self-administered recall tool and concurrently via interviewing the subjects' mothers. Results: There was a significant difference between the prevalence of obesity and being overweight between genders (P = 0.000). Overweight children, regardless of their gender, had higher daily physical activity than obese individuals and the ANOVA test showed a significant difference between means of daily metabolic equivalent of task (MET) for different genders and relative body mass index (P = 0.000). Conclusions: As increasing RBMI is concomitant with decreased daily physical activities in both genders, it is important to set plans to increase physical activities of obese children rather than overweight ones.