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Browsing Journal Articles by Subject "Central Uganda"

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    Body composition analysis of pupils in urban schools in central Uganda
    (International Journal of Business and Social Science, 2013-07) Constance, A. N. Nsibambi
    A pre experimental research was conducted to analyse the body composition of 1929 pupils aged 6 to 9 years in central Uganda. Anthropometric measures (height and weight) were taken and Body Mass Index (BMI) was computed. Pupils were classified into respective weight categories using WHO (2007) CDC –BMI for sex–age growth charts. The results showed that out of the 901 boys 92% had normal weight, 5% were underweight, 2 % were overweight and 1% was obese. Of the 1028 girls, 78.5% had normal weight, 3.1% were underweight, 11.6% were overweight and 6.8% were obese. The results also revealed significant gender difference with boys having lower mean BMI scores than girls (using p ≤ 0.05). The study concluded that underweight, overweight and obesity are prevalent of among Ugandan children and this requires putting in place strategies that promote physical activity and appropriate nutritional habits in schools and communities.
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    Prevalence of overweight and obesity among primary school children in Kampala central, Uganda
    (African Journal for Physical Health Education, Recreation and Dance, 2014-12) Milton, Chebet; Constance, Nsibambi; Justine, Otala; D.T., Goon
    Worldwide, the prevalence of overweight and obesity among children is increasing at an alarming rate. While this phenomenon has been well documented in western countries, scanty information exists in African countries. The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of overweight and obesity among primary children aged 8-12 years in Kampala, Uganda. Participants included 958 pupils (435 boys and 523 girls) from five public and five private primary schools. Weight and height were measured and body mass index calculated. The prevalence of underweight, overweight and obesity were 8.0%, 32.3% and 21.7%, respectively. Girls had higher percentage of overweight (64.4%) and obesity (52.9%) than boys (35.6%; and 47.1%, respectively). whereas underweight occurred more among the males (57.1%) compared with the females (42.9%). Normal weight was 50.3% and 49.7% for males and females, respectively. Children in private school had higher prevalence of overweight (16.6%) and obesity (11.5%) than those attending public schools, while children in public schools were more underweight (4.6%) compared to private school children (3.4%).The present study documents a considerably higher level of overweight, obesity concomitant with underweight in Ugandan school children; with overweight and obese occurring more in girls compared to the boys. Additionally, children in private schools were more overweight and obese compared to those in public schools. The high prevalence of body weight disorders found among the children has implications for their growth and development, thus intervention strategies are needed.