ABSTRACT
Background: It is well known that education level of father and mother is an important factor to achieve breastfeeding. But, according to some literature, there is still controversy that education of parents is really a major factor to affect breastfeeding practices. Objective: To find out relationship of educational level of parents with their breast feeding practices. Methods: A community based cross-sectional study was carried out in rural and urban areas of Lucknow. Multistage random sampling was used. A pre designed & pretested questionnaire was used and house to house survey was done. 528 infants with their mothers as respondent were interviewed and information about their educational level and breast feeding practices were collected. Results: Majority of mothers in rural areas were illiterate (58.3%) as compared to only 20.5% in urban areas. Majority of fathers were literate in both urban and rural areas.Lower educational status of mother and father were significantly negatively associated with initiation of breastfeeding within 1 hr, colostrum giving, exclusive breastfeeding.36.7% mothers started breast feeding within one hour, while 83.0% mothers gave colostrum. Exclusive breast feeding was present in 65.6% mothers. Similar to breastfeeding initiation, a random but statistically significant difference in number of women who exclusively breastfed their infants was observed in different educational classes with maximum proportion for graduates and above (82.1%) and minimum proportion for those who were just literate or educated upto primary level. Conclusion: The study reveals that perceptions of breastfeeding are higher in educated parents than illiterate parents. To reach at an ever satisfactory level of breastfeeding practice, more attention and education need to be given amongst the general people.
ABSTRACT
Background: Overweight and obesity are defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health. Obesity has become a global public health issue and is widely recognized as a key risk factor for coronary heart disease, hypertension, diabetes and many other health problems. The objectives of present study were to assess the prevalence of overweight and obesity and its association with socio-demographic factors amongst school-going adolescents in Lucknow district.Methods: This study was a school-based cross-sectional study and was carried out in urban and rural areas of Lucknow, from January 2018 to June 2018. Sample size was 620. A multi-stage random sampling technique has been used to select the required sample size. Data analysis was done using software MS Office excel and SPSS 18 for windows.Results: A total of 620 adolescents were studied. Majority (82.1%) of adolescents were found to be non-overweight/obese while 17.9% were found to be overweight/obese. Majority (66.7%) of students were overweight or obese, belonging to social class I while only 15.7% students were overweight or obese belonging to social class V.Conclusions: The results of our study show that overweight/obesity continues to be a public health concern in adolescents. The current study shows that adolescent overweight and obesity are increasing even in low socio-economic status. Emphasis should be placed on awareness program for obesity prevention among school students by strengthening lifestyle change.