A descriptive study of physical activity and body mass index in Palauan adolescents
Date
2006
Authors
Contributor
Advisor
Department
Instructor
Depositor
Speaker
Researcher
Consultant
Interviewer
Narrator
Transcriber
Annotator
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Volume
Number/Issue
Starting Page
Ending Page
Alternative Title
Abstract
Background: The purpose of the study was to examine physical activity and body mass index in Palauan adolescents using pedometers and BMI measurements. Methods: A total of 131 (63 females, 68 males; ages 10-14) middle school aged children from two accredited private schools participated in the study. The ethnicity group sample was 112 Palauans (85.5%), 11 Filipinos (8.4%), 7 Asians (5.3%) and 1 other (.8%). Participant's steps/day (eight days of monitoring) and height and weight measurements were obtained to determine Body Mass Index. Results: Boys (10800 ± 3167) accumulated approximately 2,800 (14%) more steps/day than girls (8000 ± 2967) (p<.01). No significant differences were found for the grade main effect and sex by grade interaction. There were no significant differences found in BMI between sexes, grades, and sex by grade interaction. Although there were no significant sex differences in BMI, approximately 29% of the boys were classified as overweight compared to 22% of the girls. It is evident that overweight disparities exist between Palauan boys and girls. Girls in the lean/healthy group acquired approximately 940 more steps/day (13%) than girls in the at-risk/overweight group. However, boys in the lean/healthy group accumulated 1400 steps/day (11 %) lesser than boys in the at-risk group. Conclusions: Palauan adolescents mean steps/day was 1900 (17%) lower when compared to national youth. We found a large disparity in overweight between boys and girls. In this study, 26% of the participants were overweight, which was 42% higher than the national average (15%).
Description
Keywords
Teenagers--Health and hygiene, Palauans--Health and hygiene, Body mass index
Citation
Extent
Format
Geographic Location
Palau
Time Period
Related To
Theses for the degree of Master of Science (University of Hawaii at Manoa). Kinesiology and Leisure Science; no. 4115
Related To (URI)
Table of Contents
Rights
All UHM dissertations and theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission from the copyright owner.
Rights Holder
Local Contexts
Collections
Email libraryada-l@lists.hawaii.edu if you need this content in ADA-compliant format.