Over-nutrition among primary school pupils in a semi-urban Local Government Area, South-western Nigeria

Background: Studies from the developing countries suggest that childhood obesity is more prevalent in the urban settings. The search for childhood overweight/obesity (over-nutrition) needs to go beyond the urban into the semi-urban and rural areas. Objectives: To determine the prevalence of over-nutrition and the associated factor among primary school pupils in Ikenne Local Government Area of Ogun State, Nigeria. Methods: This was a cross-sectional analytic study of pupils of 15 schools (10 public and 5 private) using the multistage random sampling and the proportionate sampling techniques. Data were collected using interviewer-administered questionnaire, data on physical activity, household possessions, dietary practices and relevant physical findings were obtained. Results: A total of 422 pupils were studied; the age ranged between 18 and 192 months with a mean of 107.2 ± 36.4 months. The prevalence of Overweight/Obesity (Over-nutrition) was 6.4% with male predominance: 8.1% vs 4.4% without statistical significance (p = 0.19). Over-nutrition was significantly more prevalent among pupils aged