Assessment of Weight Status among a Multiethnic Based Children Sample
ADEOGUN John Olufemi
Abstract
The study used the BMI – for – age to screen children for overweight and determined their weight status
categories. Two thousand five hundred (2500) male and female children from Festac town in Lagos metropolis
served as participants for the study. The participants’ age, height and weight were taken to determine the Body
Mass Index (BMI) and this was correlated for age as recommended for children and teenagers. The descriptive
statistics of mean, range and percentage and percentile were used in presenting the results. The results revealed
that 11.88% of the pupils studied were overweight while 29% were at risk of been overweight and a total of
40.88% were either overweight or at a risk of been overweight. The study finally concludes that since overweight
children have the tendency to grow to be obese adults, efforts must therefore be made to control; the predisposing
factors to obesity right from childhood.
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