Nutritional status of school children in the South Tongu District, Ghana.
Richard Gyan AboagyeNuworza KugbeyBright Opoku AhinkorahAbdul-Aziz SeiduAbdul CadriSamuel Adolf BosokaPaa Yeboah AkonorMohammed TakasePublished in: PloS one (2022)
The study showed a relatively high prevalence of undernutrition and overweight/obesity among school children in the South Tongu District. The identified risk factor(s) for undernutrition was the usage of water from non-potable sources whilst those of overweight/obesity were age (10-12 years), maternal formal education, beverage consumption between meals per day, and adequate dietary diversity. The findings reaffirm that malnutrition is still prevalent among school children. Hence, there is a need for the Ministry of Health, Ghana Education Service, and other Non-Governmental Organizations to pay critical attention to these factors to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 2, target 2.2. Nutritional behavioural change education should be carried out among parents and school children. School health service activities should be intensified with a special focus on nutritional screening.
Keyphrases
- healthcare
- weight loss
- weight gain
- mental health
- physical activity
- insulin resistance
- metabolic syndrome
- birth weight
- quality improvement
- type diabetes
- south africa
- risk factors
- public health
- body mass index
- high fat diet induced
- working memory
- health insurance
- adipose tissue
- health information
- risk assessment
- pregnant women
- preterm birth