eBook details
- Title: Underweight, Overweight and Obesity Among Sudanese Secondary School Children of Khartoum State (Report)
- Author : Ahfad Journal
- Release Date : January 01, 2007
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 265 KB
Description
Abstract This cross-sectional study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of underweight, overweight and obesity among 270 Sudanese school-children aged 15-18 years in Khartoum State, Sudan. Anthropometric measurements of height and weight were made on 270 girls and boys in six secondary schools located in different areas of socio-economical strata. The body mass index (BMI) was computed according to areas of the standard equation. Under nutrition, overweight and obesity was defined following the internationally accepted BMI cut-off points. Results revealed that the overall rates of overweight and obesity were 28.5%% and 5.6%, respectively along 'with the 19.6% prevalence of undernutrition. Rate of overweight was very high among females (64%) compared to males (36); while the opposite was true for the obesity rates (60% males; 40% females). Results indicated a very strong correlation between the incidence of overweight and obesity from one side and the life style from the other side including: levels of physical activities, number of meals, nutrient contents of the meals, sleeping hours, hours of TV watching and means of transportation to and from the school. Results clearly showed the links between the obesity and overweight and the presence of chronic and nutrition related diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and asthma. In addition, typical obesity-psychological symptoms such as feelings of social isolation, frustration and depression were also observed in this study.