A comparative study to assess the life style of school children with normal weight and overweight in a selected school, at Coimbatore.

A Comparative Study to assess the Lifestyle of School Children with Normal Weight and Overweight in a Selected School at Coimbatore. The aim of the study was to assess the physical activity/exercise of normal weight and overweight children in and out of the school, their eating pattern and to see whether there is any difference. A descriptive comparative survey method was used in this study. The study was conducted in R.V.S Matriculation School, Sulur. The study sample were 50 children, 25 normal weight children and 25 overweight children studying between 7th to 11th standard, selected by Convenience sampling method. The tool consisted of 26 questionnaire regarding physical activity/exercise and eating pattern. The study was based on “Health Belief Model”. The questionnaire was handed over to both normal weight and overweight children with adequate explanation with a request to fill and it return after filling the questionnaire. The data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings of the study showed that majority of normal weight children were engaged in physical activity/exercise compared to majority of overweight children who were engaged in sedentary activities. 100% of normal weight children scored good for eating habits where as 60% of overweight children scored poor for eating habits. Mean score percentage of eating habits was higher (92.5%) for normal weight children compared to only 75.63% for overweight children