IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v14y2017i3p220-d91285.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Influencing Factors of the Body Mass Index of Elementary Students in Southern Taiwan

Author

Listed:
  • Li-Na Chou

    (Department of Nursing, National Tainan Junior College of Nursing, No. 78, Min-Tsu Rd. Sec. 2, Tainan 700, Taiwan)

  • Min-Li Chen

    (Department of Respiratory Care, Graduate Institute of Nursing, Chang Gung University of Science and Technology, Chiayi Campus, West Sec., Jiapu Rd., Puzi City 61363, Chiayi County, Taiwan)

Abstract

The body mass index (BMI) of school children in Taiwan is markedly increasing. According to statistical data from the Taiwan Ministry of Education, the prevalence of obesity in school children from the southern part of the country is the highest in Taiwan. Thus, exploring the factors influencing BMI in elementary school children from southern Taiwan is crucial. This study investigated the influencing factors including physical activity levels, sedentary behaviors, dietary habits, and perceived body shape on the BMIs of elementary school children from southern Taiwan. A cross-sectional design was used, and the participants consisted of 3251 fifth-grade students (1628 boys, 50.1%; 1623 girls, 49.9%). The average BMI values for boys and girls were 19.69 and 18.70 (kg/cm) respectively. Statistically significant associations were observed between BMI and sex, 31–60 min of daily vigorous or moderate physical activities levels, length of time spent watching television, time spent on video games or the computer, and intake of vegetable or meat gravy with rice ( p < 0.001). Perceived body shape also affected the BMI of school children. The results of this study enable educational institutions in Taiwan to understand the factors affecting the BMI of school children and use this information as the basis for future healthy body weight policies.

Suggested Citation

  • Li-Na Chou & Min-Li Chen, 2017. "Influencing Factors of the Body Mass Index of Elementary Students in Southern Taiwan," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-11, February.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:14:y:2017:i:3:p:220-:d:91285
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/14/3/220/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/14/3/220/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Pei-Lin Hsieh & Min-Li Chen & Chiu-Mieh Huang & Wen-Chyuan Chen & Chun-Huei Li & Li-Chun Chang, 2014. "Physical Activity, Body Mass Index, and Cardiorespiratory Fitness among School Children in Taiwan: A Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-11, July.
    2. De Heer, H.D. & Koehly, L. & Pederson, R. & Morera, O., 2011. "Effectiveness and spillover of an after-school health promotion program for hispanic elementary school Children," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 101(10), pages 1907-1913.
    3. Hollar, D. & Messiah, S.E. & Lopez-Mitnik, G. & Hollar, T.L. & Almon, M. & Agatston, A.S., 2010. "Effect of a two-year obesity prevention intervention on percentile changes in body mass index and academic performance in low-income elementary school children," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 100(4), pages 646-653.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Jacek Polechoński & Katarzyna Nierwińska & Barbara Kalita & Piotr Wodarski, 2020. "Can Physical Activity in Immersive Virtual Reality Be Attractive and Have Sufficient Intensity to Meet Health Recommendations for Obese Children? A Pilot Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-14, November.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yunting Zhang & Xiaochen Ma & Jin Zhao & Hong Shen & Fan Jiang, 2019. "The Effect of Strengthened Physical Education on Academic Achievements in High School Students: A Quasi-Experiment in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(23), pages 1-11, November.
    2. Dana E. Wagner & Gabrielle Seneres & Elisabeth Jones & Kelli A. Brodersen & Sjonna Whitsitt-Paulson, 2022. "Swap Up Your Meal: A Mass Media Nutrition Education Campaign for Oklahoma Teens," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-16, August.
    3. Rodrigo Antunes Lima & Fernanda Cunha Soares & Jorge Bezerra & Mauro Virgílio Gomes de Barros, 2020. "Effects of a Physical Education Intervention on Academic Performance: A Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(12), pages 1-10, June.
    4. Kai-Yang Lo & Min-Chen Wu & Shu-Chin Tung & City C. Hsieh & Hsueh-Hua Yao & Chien-Chang Ho, 2017. "Association of School Environment and After-School Physical Activity with Health-Related Physical Fitness among Junior High School Students in Taiwan," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-10, January.
    5. Maricela Valdez & Rosalinda Hernandez & Alejandro Garcia, 2021. "The Relationship between Cardiovascular Fitness and Body Mass Index to Student Achievement in 5th Grade Hispanic Children of the Lower Rio Grande Valley of South Texas," Noble International Journal of Social Sciences Research, Noble Academic Publsiher, vol. 6(4), pages 30-39, June.
    6. Price, Joshua, 2012. "De-Fizzing Schools: The Effect on Student Behavior of Having Vending Machines in Schools," Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association, vol. 41(1), pages 1-8, April.
    7. Emmanuel Bonney & Gillian Ferguson & Bouwien Smits-Engelsman, 2018. "Relationship between Body Mass Index, Cardiorespiratory and Musculoskeletal Fitness among South African Adolescent Girls," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-12, May.
    8. Falonn Contreras-Osorio & Iris Paola Guzmán-Guzmán & Enrique Cerda-Vega & Luis Chirosa-Ríos & Rodrigo Ramírez-Campillo & Christian Campos-Jara, 2022. "Anthropometric Parameters, Physical Activity, Physical Fitness, and Executive Functions among Primary School Children," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-16, March.
    9. Qaiser Suleman & Termit Kaur Ranjit Singh & Zeeshan ., 2014. "Effect of over-scheduled involvement in co-curricular activities on the academic achievement of secondary school students," International Journal of Learning and Development, Macrothink Institute, vol. 4(3), pages 62-72, September.
    10. Natascia Rinaldo & Stefania Toselli & Emanuela Gualdi-Russo & Nicoletta Zedda & Luciana Zaccagni, 2020. "Effects of Anthropometric Growth and Basketball Experience on Physical Performance in Pre-Adolescent Male Players," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-12, March.
    11. Melinda J. Ickes & Jennifer McMullen & Taj Haider & Manoj Sharma, 2014. "Global School-Based Childhood Obesity Interventions: A Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-22, August.
    12. Shenghui Tuan & Hungtzu Su & Yijen Chen & Minhui Li & Yunjen Tsai & Chunhan Yang & Kolong Lin, 2018. "Fat Mass Index and Body Mass Index Affect Peak Metabolic Equivalent Negatively during Exercise Test among Children and Adolescents in Taiwan," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-11, February.
    13. Paul Branscum & Manoj Sharma, 2012. "After-School Based Obesity Prevention Interventions: A Comprehensive Review of the Literature," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-20, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:14:y:2017:i:3:p:220-:d:91285. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.