A Study to Assess the Eating Habits, Physical Activity, and Knowledge Regarding the Prevention of Obesity among School Children in a Selected Residential Area of Pune City

Abstract

Background: India stands at second position in possessing a large number of children with obesity after
China. Worldwide, millions of children are suffering from health problems related to obesity. In addition to
faulty eating habits, obesity among children also caused by genetic factors and lack of physical activities.
Methodology: In the present study, researchers have executed a descriptive research design with a sample of
60. The samples were of school-going children with age group between 9-16 years and they were nominated
in the study using convenient sampling design. The parameters include height, weight, and BMI of the school
children to estimate the obesity of the children. This study also had focused to assess the physical activity
and eating habits of subjects by assessing the knowledge regarding the prevention of obesity assessed by
administering using a checklist.
Results: 65% of students had average knowledge on the prevention of obesity. 11.7% of the students have a
long-term illness which is limiting their daily activity. The majority of the subjects preferred outdoor games
while some subjects wished some sort of motivation to engage in sports activities. 61.7% of students liked
to eat junk foods at least once a day. 16.7% of students fall under the category of overweight with BMI 24.6-
30 kg/m2.
Conclusion: School going children need to be highly educated regarding the benefits of eating a healthy
diet and they need to be discouraged for favoring junk foods by quoting results of health issues after eating
junk food items.