Table 1.
Background characteristics and body mass index of children
| Characteristics | No of subjects | Normal and underweight | Overweight (BMI 25– < 30) | Obese (BMI > =30) | Overweight/obese | p-value* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (n = 1722) | (n = 1469) | (n = 175) | (n = 78) | (n = 253) | ||
| n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | |||
| Gender | ||||||
| Girls | 943 | 806 (85.5) | 98 (10.4) | 39 (4.1) | 137 (14.5) | 0.82 |
| Boys | 779 | 663 (85.1) | 77 (9.9) | 39 (5.0) | 116 (14.9) | |
| Age group (Yrs) | ||||||
| 7–10 (9 ± 0.97) | 639 | 536 (83.9) | 69 (10.8) | 34 (5.3) | 103 (16.1) | 0.21 |
| 11–14 (12 ± 0.93) | 1083 | 933 (86.1) | 106 (9.8) | 44 (4.1) | 150 (13.9) | |
| Area of residence | ||||||
| Kinondoni | 1684 | 1439 (85.5) | 169 (10.0) | 76 (4.5) | 245 (14.5) | 0.26 |
| Other | 38 | 30 (78.9) | 6 (15.8) | 2 (5.2) | 8 (21.0) | |
| School type | ||||||
| Public | 1030 | 969 (94.1) | 49 (4.8) | 12 (1.2) | 61 (6.0) | <0.001 |
| Private | 692 | 500 (72.3) | 126 (18.2) | 66 (9.5) | 192 (27.7) | |
| Number of siblings | ||||||
| 0–3 | 1073 | 892 (83.1) | 126 (11.7) | 55 (5.1) | 181 (16.8) | 0.001 |
| 4 and more | 649 | 577 (88.9) | 49 (7.6) | 23 (3.5) | 72 (11.1) | |
| Father’s level of education | ||||||
| Secondary/post secondary | 879 | 722 (82.1) | 113 (12.9) | 44 (5.0) | 157 (17.9) | <0.001 |
| Primary/no formal education | 279 | 259 (92.8) | 14 (5.0) | 6 (2.2) | 20 (7.2) | |
| Don’t know | 564 | 488 (86.5) | 48 (8.5) | 28 (4.9) | 76 (13.5) | |
| Mother’s level of education | ||||||
| Secondary/post secondary | 813 | 649 (79.8) | 115 (14.1) | 49 (6.1) | 164 (20.2) | <0.001 |
| Primary/formal education | 413 | 386 (93.5) | 20 (4.8) | 7 (1.7) | 27 (6.5) | |
| Don’t know | 496 | 434 (87.5) | 40 (8.1) | 22 (4.4) | 62 (12.5) | |
| Mode of transport to and from school: Walking | ||||||
| Yes | 1112 | 1009 (90.7) | 79 (7.1) | 24 (2.2) | 103 (9.3) | <0.001 |
| No | 610 | 460 (75.4) | 96 (15.7) | 54 (8.9) | 150 (24.6) | |
| Mode of transport to and from school: Private cars and public transport | ||||||
| Private car or school bus | 493 | 354 (71.8) | 87 (17.6) | 52 (10.5) | 139 (28.2) | <0.0001 |
| Public transport | 117 | 106 (90.6) | 9 (7.7) | 2 (1.7) | 11 (9.4) | |
| Usually watch television | ||||||
| Yes | 1449 | 1221 (84.3) | 154 (10.6) | 74 (5.1) | 228 (15.7) | <0.001 |
| No | 273 | 248 (90.8) | 21 (7.7) | 4 (1.5) | 25 (9.2) | |
| Usually use computers | ||||||
| Yes | 576 | 440 (76.4) | 91 (15.8) | 45 (7.8) | 136 (23.6) | <0.0001 |
| No | 1146 | 1029 (89.8) | 84 (7.3) | 33 (2.9) | 117 (10.2) | |
| Usually play video games | ||||||
| Yes | 600 | 468 (78.0) | 87 (14.5) | 45 (7.5) | 132 (22.0) | <0.0001 |
| No | 1122 | 1001 (89.2) | 88 (7.8) | 33 (2.9) | 121 (10.7) | |
| Given money to buy food at school | ||||||
| Yes | 1232 | 1087 (88.2) | 101 (8.2) | 44 (3.6) | 145 (11.8) | <0.0001 |
| No | 490 | 382 (77.9) | 74 (15.1) | 34 (7.0) | 108 (22.1) | |
| Amount of money given | ||||||
| <=1000Tshs (<=0.5USD) | 1144 | 1018 (88.9) | 88 (7.7) | 38 (3.3) | 126 (11.0) | 0.008 |
| >1000Tshs (>0.5USD) | 88 | 70 (79.5) | 12 (13.6) | 6 (6.8) | 18 (20.5) | |
| Given food to take to school | ||||||
| Yes | 242 | 194 (80.2) | 31 (12.8) | 17 (7.0) | 48 (19.8) | 0.02 |
| No | 1480 | 1275 (86.1) | 144 (9.7) | 61 (4.1) | 205 (13.9) | |
| Given food at school | ||||||
| Yes | 692 | 500 (72.3) | 126 (18.2) | 66 (9.5) | 192 (27.7) | <0.001 |
| No | 1030 | 969 (94.1) | 49 (4.8) | 12 (1.2) | 61 (5.9) | |
| Drink light sugar soft drinks | ||||||
| Yes | 829 | 683 (82.4) | 98 (11.8) | 48 (5.8) | 146 (17.6) | 0.001 |
| No | 893 | 786 (88.0) | 77 (8.6) | 30 (3.4) | 107 (11.9) | |
| Dinner time | ||||||
| <=7:00 PM | 1536 | 1331 (86.7) | 146 (9.5) | 59 (3.8) | 205 (13.3) | 0.06 |
| >7:00 PM | 186 | 152 (81.7) | 22 (11.8) | 12 (6.5) | 34 (18.3) | |
| Usually eat breakfast before going to school | ||||||
| Yes | 1198 | 1023 (85.4) | 127 (10.6) | 48 (4.0) | 175 (14.6) | 0.87 |
| No | 524 | 446 (85.1) | 48 (9.2) | 30 (5.7) | 78 (14.9) | |
| Drink full sugar soft drinks | ||||||
| Yes | 1356 | 1157 (85.3) | 137 (10.1) | 62 (4.6) | 199 (14.7) | 0.96 |
| No | 366 | 312 (85.2) | 38 (10.4) | 16 (4.4) | 54 (14.8) | |
| Usually eat vegetables | ||||||
| Yes | 1675 | 1429 (85.3) | 170 (10.1) | 76 (4.5) | 246 (14.7) | 0.97 |
| No | 47 | 40 (85.1) | 5 (10.6) | 2 (4.3) | 7 (14.9) | |
| Usually drink fruit juice | ||||||
| Yes | 1612 | 1368 (84.9) | 169 (10.5) | 75 (4.7) | 244 (15.1) | <0.001 |
| No | 110 | 101 (91.8) | 6 (5.5) | 3 (2.7) | 9 (8.2) | |
| Usually eat fruits | ||||||
| Yes | 1693 | 1443 (85.2) | 174 (10.3) | 76 (4.5) | 250 (14.8) | 0.49 |
| No | 29 | 26 (89.7) | 1 (3.4) | 2 (6.9) | 3 (10.3) | |
| Usually eat fried food | ||||||
| Yes | 1623 | 1389 (85.6) | 163 (10.0) | 71 (4.4) | 234 (14.4) | 0.19 |
| No | 99 | 80 (80.8) | 12 (12.1) | 7 (7.1) | 19 (19.2) | |
| Usually eat starch foods | ||||||
| Yes | 1647 | 1407 (85.4) | 169 (10.3) | 71 (4.3) | 240 (14.6) | 0.52 |
| No | 75 | 62 (82.7) | 6 (8.0) | 7 (9.3) | 13 (17.3) | |
*p value corresponds to a comparison of prevalence of overweight/obese children among different groups