A comparative study of nutritional status of adolescents from selected private and public boarding secondary schools in Ibadan, Southwest Nigeria.
Loading...
Date
2017
Authors
Kola-Raji, BA
Balogun, MR
Odugbemi, TO
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Journal of Medicine in the Tropics
Abstract
Background: Adolescents form a part of the productive age group in Nigeria, and giving attention to their needs is essential in the development of the nation. Assessing the nutritional status of boarders in secondary schools could provide evidence-based information, which could be used for future nutritional interventions. This study compared the nutritional status of the adolescents in private and public boarding secondary schools in Ibadan, South Western Nigeria.
Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study of 239 and 251 participants from both private and public boarding secondary schools, respectively, selected by multistage sampling technique. Socio-demographic characteristics and anthropometric measurements were analysed using Epi info version 3.5.1 software and the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 20 software.
Results: The mean age of the students in the private and public schools was 12.9 2.05 years and 14.0 1.49 years, respectively. The prevalence of stunting, underweight, normal weight, overweight and obesity among private school participants was 2.5, 39.3, 51.9, 8.0 and 0.8% respectively, whereas that of public school participants was 8.4, 37.1, 60.6, 2.4 and 0.0, respectively. These differences in the stunting and body mass index categories were statistically significant (P < 0.05). Higher proportion of the younger adolescents in both private and public schools were underweight (P < 0.001). In private schools, a higher proportion of male students were underweight (P=0.001), whereas a higher proportion of the older adolescents were overweight (P= 0.033).
Conclusion: More private school boarders were underweight and overweight, whereas more public school boarders were stunted. Students, school administrators and parents should be enlightened on the nutrition problems of adolescents and their potential danger.
Description
Scholarly articles
Keywords
Adolescents , Productive age group , Secondary schools , Boarding schools , Research Subject Categories::MEDICINE
Citation
Kola-Raji BA, Balogun MR, Odugbemi TO. A comparative study of nutritional status of adolescents from selected private and public boarding secondary schools in Ibadan, Southwest Nigeria. Journal of Medicine in the Tropics 2017; 19: 49-55.