天美传媒

Abstract

Background: Childhood overnutrition (overweight and obesity) has become a major public health concern in many industrialized countries and is emerging as a threat to the public health in low income countries. Globally, an estimated 170 million children aged <18 years were classified as overnourished in the year 2008. However, there is limited evidence about the extent of overnutrition and associated factors among first cycle primary school children in developing countries like Ethiopia. Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of overnutrition and associated factors among 1st cycle primary school children in Dire Dawa town, eastern Ethiopia from February 25th to March 14th, 2014. Methods: An institution based cross-sectional study was conducted among a total of 484 randomly selected first cycle primary school children proportionally allocated to population size of the schools. A structured and pretested questionnaire, portable electronic weight scale and commercial stadiometer were used to collect the data. Overnutrition was determined using Body Mass Index (BMI) for age Z-scores based on World Health Organization (WHO), child growth standard cut offs for children aged 5-19 years in which BMI for age >+1 Standard Deviation (SD) to <+2 SD was considered as overweight and >+2 SD as obese. Descriptive, bivariate, and multivariable analyses were used to analyze the data. Odds ratio along with 95% CI was estimated to identify factors associated with overnutrition using multivariable logistic regression. The level of statistical significance was declared at p value <0.05. Results: The overall prevalence of overnutrition was 20%; 95% CI (16.4 and 23.8) of which overweight was 15.5%; 95% CI (11.9 and 19.3) and obesity was 4.5%, 95% CI (2.7and 6.5). Children who learn at private schools are 2 times more likely to be overnourished compared with those who learn at public schools [(AOR=2.5, 95%CI=(1.21-5.09)]. Children who often eat sweets are 3 times more likely to be overnourished compared with those who seldom eat [(AOR=3.56, 95% CI=(1.78-7.10)]. Moreover, children who do not participate in sport or physical activity are 3 times more likely to be over nourished compared with their counterparts [(AOR=3.47, 95%CI=(1.6-7.53)]. children who watch television/play video games >2 hours per day were 2 times more likely be overnourished when compared to those who watch/play <2 hours per day [(AOR=2.28, 95%CI=(1.22-4.27)]. Conclusions: The prevalence of overweight/obesity is high among the study population. Learning at private schools, consumption of sweet food items, frequent use of mass media, and sedentary activity have significantly contributed to overnutrition. Hence, awareness must be created on the rising prevalence of overweight/obesity and associated factors among the study participants, school teachers, parents, and other relevant governing bodies to pay attention to the emerging problem of overnutrition.

Biography

Email: gudina_egata@yahoo.com