Prevalence of Obesity in Correlation with Physical Activity among School Students of Nepal

Background and Objective: Obesity is an emerging major public health problem throughout the world and its prevalence has largely increased over the last decade in both developed and developing countries. Only fewer studies have been done addressing obesity in Nepal. Moreover, while this global epidemic is well described in the adult population, not much data is available regarding the prevalence of overweight/obesity in children or adolescents amongst developing countries. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the prevalence of overweight/obesity in correlation with physical activity among school going students of Nepal. Method: This cross sectional study included hundred students of either sex studying in different private and government school of Nepal. The students included in the study were from grade 7 to grade 10 with the age group of 11-18 years. Height and weight were measured on calibrated scales and the standard WHO criterion for BMI was used. Physical activities of the students were assessed with the help of a set of questionnaires. Independent sample t-test was used to identify whether there is any significant difference between anthropometric data of the study population, BMI of male and female students and BMI of students of government school and private school. Likewise, Chi square (χ2) test was applied to determine any significant association between the parameters of physical activity with BMI. Results: The results of this study showed that the obese and overweight subjects had a high BMI. Of the total population, 3% were obese while 19% were overweight. Similarly, 31% were found to be underweight and 47% of all the children were normal. The association of different types of physical activities (sports, domestic help, motor transportation) with BMI was found to be statistically significant. Of all the obese children, 66.66% belonged to the private schools, while of the underweight children, 58.06% were in the government school. Conclusion: Obesity and under nutrition co-exist in Nepalese school-children. This study showed the higher rates of underweight children, even though Nepalese population is starting to have worrisome rates of overweight. There is a great need for information on nutritional status and physical activity in school-age children.