Awareness of risks and complications of obesity in school going children

Abstract

Introduction: Childhood obesity is increasing in Pakistan, and it mostly occurs when there is more energy-rich food intake and not enough physical activity. Not realizing the dangers, parents often encourage the children to eat as much as possible and whatever is preferred by the child. Objective: To assess the level of awareness of school-going children of Peshawar about the risks and complications of childhood obesity. Materials & Methods: It was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in two private schools of Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, from April - July 2017, where data were collected through consecutive sampling of all available children of classes 7 to 10. Questionnaires contained open and closed-ended questions. Data were entered in SPSS 22 and Microsoft Excel, and analyzed for descriptive statistics. Results: Majority of children (83%) were aware of the meaning of obesity and 72% knew that obesity is an illness, and it can cause problems in their bodies. Most children (65%) thought obesity caused high cholesterol levels in the body, and 56% children thought that obesity could be controlled by exercise. Conclusion: Majority of the school children were aware of obesity and its risks and complications.