Prevalence of overweight and obesity among children aged 6-12 years in Dodoma and Kinondoni municipalities
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Date
2009
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
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Publisher
Sokoine University of Agriculture
Abstract
A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence of overweight
and obesity among 428 children aged between 6 and 12 years in Dodoma and
Kinondoni municipalities. Anthropometrical and body composition measurements
were taken for all respondents. Results showed that, the proportion of boys aged 6-9
years who were overweight and obese in Dodoma and Kinondoni municipalities
ranged between 7.1 and 9.4 percent, while the proportion of overweight and obese
girls of the same age in Dodoma and Kinondoni municipalities ranged between 5.8
and 10.2 percent. The proportion of overweight and obese boys aged 10-12 years in
Dodoma and Kinondoni municipalities ranged between 3.1 - 6.4 percent, while
prevalence of overweight and obese among girls of the same age in Dodoma and
Kinondoni municipalities ranged between 1.6 and 8.6 percent. The mean fat mass
and lean mass of boys aged 10-12 years in Dodoma and Kinondoni municipalities
ranged between 10.3 and 20.8 percent, while the mean fat mass and lean mass of
boys aged 6-9 years in Dodoma and Kinondoni municipalities ranged between 6.1
and 15.6 percent. For the girls aged 10-12 years, the mean fat mass and lean mass
ranged between 9.3 - 24.6 percent. The study revealed further that, majority of school
children of both sexes and age groups in both municipalities did not perform physical
exercises. Children spent an average of one to two hours watching TV or listening to
Radio programmes. There was generally high intake of non-nutritious, energy-dense
snacks and drinks at school. It could be concluded that, the prevalence of overweight
and obesity among boys and girls in the study was relatively lower than those
reported elsewhere, however, the trend is rapidly increasing with change in lifestyles
and urbanization.
Description
Dissertation
Keywords
Obersity, Overweight, Anthropometrical, Kinondoni municipalities