Obesity and Overweight among in-School Students in Private and Public Schools in Ibadan North Local Government Area, Oyo State: A Comparative Study

The growing alarming rate of obesity worldwide is a great concern to individuals and the general public. This has been the trend among secondary schools in many parts of the world in the past three decades. This study, therefore, was aimed at assessing the obesity and overweight among in-school students in public and private schools in Ibadan North Local Government, Oyo State Nigeria. A comparative cross sectional study was carried out among in-school students in Ibadan North Local Government area Oyo State Nigeria. Four hundred (400) respondents were selected using multi-stage sampling technique. Information from respondents was obtained using pre-tested semi-structured questionnaires. Data analysis was done with Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21. The results showed that when Body Mass Index was used as a measure of obesity, the number of overweight and obesity was significantly more in private schools than in public schools with a p-value less than 0.001. Using Waist and Hip Ratio private school have significantly higher number of obese compared to the public. Body Image Discrepancy private school was higher than that of the public school, but the difference was not statistically high. The nutritional rating of the respondents showed that few of the private students on first day, about one third on the second day and the same on the third day had a healthy eating index. Majority of the respondents scored below six percet which is an indication that many of them are not eating well, that is they are not abiding by the food pyramid rules of daily recommended dietary allowances (RDAs). The nutritional status was significantly associated with the gender, types of school, age groups and class categories of the respondents. The study concludes that WHR detects more of central obesity while BMI accounts for generalised obesity. There was a significant difference in the feeding patterns and activity patterns of the students attending public and private schools. Factors associated with the nutritional status of the respondents were their age, gender, the type of schools and their class categories.