ABSTRACT
Background: Healthy eating habits during childhood have been identified as a foundational support for the growth, development, and intellectual well-being of schoolchildren and as a protection against diseases that affect learning and functional capacity. This study examined the eating habits of the previous day, weekly, and daily between Nigerian children in rural and urban elementary schools. Methods: Data were collected between March and May 2021 with an instrument extracted from the Health and Attainment of Pupils in a Primary Education Network Survey (HAPPEN survey). Participants for the study were school children (aged 7-13 years). The multistage sampling technique was used to draw samples from the target population. Two schools were randomly selected for the study (one in the urban area of Lagos and the other in the rural area of Ekiti state). A total of 214 healthy children (urban school = 118; rural school = 96). The survey was conducted online and on-site during the school hours. The data were analysed using frequency count, percent, mean, standard deviation, and independent t-test at p < 0.05 level of significant. Results: The result of the t-test showed that there are significant differences in the weekly consumption of soft drinks (p = 0.02), fizzy drinks (p = 0.00), sugary snacks (p = 0.00) and the consumption of fish (p = 0.00) by the rural and urban schoolchildren. Conclusions and recommendations: Based on the results, it was concluded that most of the children were relatively well fed with moderately healthy dietary choices. Urban children are making healthy dietary choices and few unhealthy choices. However, rural schoolchildren are making healthy dietary choices relative to affordable options. The government to urgently bridge the nutritional gap between urban and rural schoolchildren through food market intervention and school nutrition campaign.
ABSTRACT
Objective: the objective of this study was to examine the anthropometric and physical profile of selected school-age children in rural and urban setting. Methods: the descriptive cross-sectional design was adopted for the study while multistage sampling techniques, which included simple random and systematic sampling techniques, were used to draw samples from the target population. The sample constitute healthy children who voluntarily participated in the study after consent for participation was given by individual parent. Anthropometric measurements for the study included height, weight, sitting height and BMI while the physical fitness tests for the study included sit and reach, handgrip strength, speed bounce, standing broad jump, 10m x 5 shuttles run and multistage fitness test. Z score, STEN score and independent T-Test were used for data analysis. Results: a total of 222 healthy children with average age of 10 years (male=112, female=109) participated in the study. The results showed that the urban children were taller (Urban=141.3±9.2m; Rural=134±21.3m), heavier (Urban=37.6±10.4kg; Rural=28.2±6.2kg), had more leg power (Urban=105.7±25.5; Rural=49.4±41.0) and arm strength (Urban=15.7±4.1; Rural=13.4±5.2) than rural children. However, the rural children had higher sit and reach score (Rural=25.3±5.8; Urban=22.8±6.0) and completed more laps in multistage fitness test (Rural=35.5±25.5; Urban=12±5.7). The statistical analysis showed that all the variables were significantly different urban and rural children (P<0.05). Conclusion: the current study shows that the children in the urban and rural settings differed in the selected anthropometric and physical variables Therefore, the physical education program and infrastructural facilities for physical activity and sport participation for school age children should be designed based on the socioeconomic status, social amenities and level of development of the host community
Objetivo: examinar o perfil antropométrico e físico de crianças em idade escolar selecionadas em ambientes rurais e urbanos. Métodos: foi realizado um estudo transversal aplicando técnicas de amostragem em vários estágios, que incluíam processos de amostragem aleatória simples e sistemática, usadas para extrair amostras da população-alvo. A amostra constitui-se de crianças saudáveis que participaram voluntariamente do estudo, após consentimento para participação dado por um dos pais. As medições antropométricas incluíram altura, peso, altura sentada e IMC, enquanto os testes de aptidão física para o estudo incluíram sentar-se e alcançar, força de preensão manual, salto de velocidade, salto em largura, corrida de vaivém de 10 x 5 metros e teste de aptidão multiestágio. Foram usados para a análise escore z, escore STEN e teste t independentemente dos dados. Resultados: um total de 222 crianças saudáveis com idade média de 10 anos (masculino=112, feminino=109) participaram do estudo. Os resultados mostraram que as crianças urbanas eram mais altas (Urbano=141,3±9,2m; Rurais=134±21,3m), mais pesadas (Urbano=37,6±10,4kg; Rurais=28,2±6,2kg), tinham mais força nas pernas (Urbano=105,7±25,5; Rurais =49,4±41,0) e força de braço (Urbano=15,7±4,1; Rural=13,4±5,2) do que as crianças da zona rural. No entanto, as crianças da zona rural tiveram maior pontuação de sentar e alcançar (Rural=25,3±5,8; Urbana=22,8±6,0) e completaram mais voltas no teste de condicionamento físico multiestágio (Rural=35,5±25,5; Urbana=12±5,7). Todas as variáveis eram significativamente diferentes entre crianças urbanas e rurais (P<0,05). Conclusão: o presente estudo mostrou que as crianças das áreas urbana e rural diferiram nas variáveis antropométricas e físicas selecionadas. Portanto, o programa de educação física e as instalações de infraestrutura para atividades físicas e participação em esportes para crianças em idade escolar devem ser projetados com base no status socioeconômico, nas comodidades sociais e no nível de desenvolvimento da comunidade anfitriã
