Primary Prevention Program of Obesity among Primary School Children

Abstract

Background: Childhood obesity is a serious medical condition that affects children and adolescents. It’s
particularly troubling because the extra pounds often start children on the path to health problems that
were once considered adult problems: diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Aim of the
Study: assess the effect of primary prevention program of obesity among primary school children through:
assessing knowledge & practices of primary school children related to obesity, Designing, implementing
primary prevention program of obesity among primary school children, evaluating the effectiveness of
primary prevention program on knowledge & practices related to obesity among primary school children.
Subjects and Methods: Setting: The study was conducted in four primary governmental school of El-Salam
city , Cairo governorate including: (El Hussien, Osman Ben Afan, Atef El Sadat and Gamal Abdel Naser).
Size: the sample composed of 144 primary school children chosen randomly through multistage sampling .
Tools: Different tools were used for data collection of study and it was written in simple language to suit the
understanding level of the studied primary school children First tool: Structured interviewing questionnaire,
second tool: Anthropometric Measurements , physical assessment sheet Results: clarified that only few
percentage of primary school children had good Knowledge preprogram while this improved to more than
one third post program implementation related to their total knowledge about childhood obesity , there was
highly statistically significant difference in post-program compared to pre-program according to their total
practice related to childhood obesity. Conclusions: primary school children improved their knowledge and
practice regarding childhood obesity after program implementation. Recommendation: primary prevention
program must be provided for all primary school children to prevent childhood obesity risks.