Childhood Obesity – Prevalence among 7 and 8 year old Primary School Students in Kota Kinabalu

ABSTRACT

Childhood obesity among school children is currently not a prevalent health problem in Kota Kinabalu. However, the complication of childhood obesity is serious. Authorities should address this problem through the education of parents and children towards living a healthy lifestyle, encompassing teaching of healthy eating habits and encouragement of physical activities in school or leisure time should be promoted among all age groups. Pregnant and lactating women should be given advice on exclusive breast feeding to prevent childhood obesity. Early detection of obesity and hypertension are important. It will be useful to determine what factors in Kota Kinabalu enable a lower prevalence of obesity compared to the higher prevalence areas in the country. This could provide important information to design strategies to reduce obesity among school children nation wide.