Anthropometric indices of adolescents in private and government schools in Jos North LGA, Plateau State

Abstract

Background: Adolescence is a period of transition between childhood and adulthood. Nutritional status assessment using anthropometry is a simple and extremely useful initial approach to assess adolescents’ nutrition. This study aims to compare the anthropometry of adolescents in private and government schools, using Body Mass Index (BMI).

Methods: Seven hundred and seventeen (717) adolescents between the ages of 10 and 19 years were studied. Anthropometric data were collected to determine their nutritional status using BMI and comparisons made between private and government-owned secondary schools. BMI was categorized as either normal or abnormal (obesity, overweight, thinness and severe thinness).

Results: Overall, 16% of the respondents had abnormal BMI; obesity-1%, overweight-7.8%, thinness-5.7%, and severe thinness-1.5%, and a statistically significant difference was found between the proportions of abnormal BMI in Private (19.5%) and Government (12.4%) schools (p-value: 0.025). Seventy-seven percent (77%) of the respondents had unhealthy eating habits and no statistically significant difference was found between the eating habits of adolescents in private and government schools (p-value: 0.82). Also, 87.2% of all the respondents reported engaging in physical exercise and a significantly higher proportion was reported in government schools than in private schools (91% vs. 83%, p-value: 0.002). BMI category was found to be significantly associated with school type; those in private schools had a lesser proportion of individuals with a normal BMI (p-value: 0.025).

Conclusions: A large proportion of adolescents in public and government schools in Jos North LGA had normal BMI and engaged in physical activity. Private schools had a higher proportion of adolescents with a poor nutritional status and there is a dual burden of malnutrition in both school types albeit a low proportion. However, the majority of in-school adolescents have an unhealthy eating habit and therefore, nutrition education should be up-scaled in secondary schools to promote healthier eating habits among adolescents.