Association of Physical Activity Levels and Body Mass Index among School-Age Public School Pupils in a Selected Community in Nigeria

Wilson-Itek S, Abeni K, Zauna M and Chika F

Published on: 2025-01-13

Abstract

Background: Childhood obesity has emerged as a significant public health concern worldwide. Physical activity plays a crucial role in controlling childhood obesity.

Objective: This study assessed the distribution of BMI and physical activity levels among the participants. And determined the association between body mass index and physical activity level among the school age.

Methods: Four hundred and forty-two (422) participants aged 8 and 14 years participated in this cross-sectional study. Before the study began, ethical approval, permission to conduct this study, and informed consent were secured. The anthropometric data of height and weight of each participant is measured with their standard instruments. Also, the physical activity levels of the participants were determined using the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Children (PAQ-C). Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Data collected was recorded and analyzed with a statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) version 23. The level of significance was set at P <0.05

Results: It was found that the majority of the participants were underweight (69.9% of the participants), and the majority were also moderately involved in physical activity (50% of the participants). Additionally, there was no significant association between physical activity level and the distribution of the participants’ distribution of body mass index (p = 0.599).

Conclusion: The outcome of this study showed that the majority of the public-school students in the community were underweight and there was no significant association between body mass index and their physical activity levels.

Keywords

Physical activity, Body mass index, School age

Introduction

Promoting lifetime health and maintaining physical activity requires participation from a young age [1]. Children and adolescents who engage in physical activity exhibit higher psychological well-being and lower levels of cardiometabolic risk factor [2]. Observing and consistently tracking physical activity levels help determine an individual's physical fitness, identify physical inactivity early, and encourage behavior changes toward more active lifestyles [3].

Physical activity is broadly defined as any large muscle movement, including sports, dance, games, work, lifestyle activities, and exercise for fitness [4]. It encompasses all bodily movements produced by skeletal muscles that require energy expenditure [5]. Physical activity occurs during leisure time, transportation, or work, with both moderate- and vigorous-intensity activities contributing to health benefits [6].

A significant age-related decline in physical activity is observed among children and adolescents [7]. Physical activity levels peak around the age of school entry (approximately 6 years old) and then progressively decrease, while sedentary time increases between the ages of 3 and 6 [8]. Studies also show that physical activity levels continue to decline between ages 6 and 15, with girls being less active than boys in all age groups [9]. Notably, children’s physical activity patterns differ from adults, being more intermittent rather than sustained over long period [10]. Thus, accurately quantifying children’s intermittent activity patterns necessitates measurement tools tailored specifically for this population.

Evidence-based recommendations suggest that children and adolescents should engage in at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity daily [11]. However, survey data indicate that many children and adolescents fail to meet these guidelines. For instance, only 26.1% of children in the United States and 34.1% in China meet the daily activity recommendations [12].

In developing nations, obesity and overweight are becoming significant public health concerns. One of the most serious long-term consequences of childhood obesity is its progression into adulthood, along with associated comorbidities [13]. Research shows that overweight and obese children are more likely to remain obese in adulthood compared to their normal-weight peers [14]. Reduced physical activity and unhealthy eating habits are two primary risk factors for overweight and obesity. Studies have consistently found that overweight individuals engage in less physical activity than their normal-weight counterparts [15]. Furthermore, health-related behaviors established in childhood often persist into adulthood, highlighting the importance of understanding the epidemiology of physical activity as a means of addressing overweight and obesity.

In Nigeria, few studies on childhood obesity have explored its risk factors, with most focusing on prevalence rates [2]. Understanding how BMI relates to changes in physical activity levels over time is challenging due to confounding factors such as gender and socioeconomic status. These factors can influence activity patterns and BMI variations, complicating efforts to draw definitive conclusions. Nevertheless, examining the relationship between BMI and physical activity in children, as well as understanding how these patterns evolve over time, is critical for developing targeted preventive strategies.

This study seeks to investigate the association between BMI and physical activity in children and explore how activity levels change with age. The findings will inform the design of effective interventions to promote healthier lifestyles and reduce the burden of childhood obesity.

Methods

Four hundred and forty-two (422) participants aged 8 and 14 years participated in this cross-sectional study. Before the study began, ethical approval, permission to conduct this study, and informed consent were secured. The anthropometric data of height and weight of the each participant is measured with their standard instruments. Also, the physical activity levels of the participant were determined using the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Children (PAQ-C). Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Data collected was recorded and analyzed with a statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) version 23. The level of significance was be set at P <0.05.

Results

General Distribution of Body Mass Index and Physical Activity Level of the Participants

The general distribution of Body mass index and physical activity level are presented in Table 1: The majority of the participants are Underweight (69.9%) and also majority of the participants are moderately active in Physical activity level (50.6%) (Table 2)

Association between Body Mass Index and Physical Activity Level of Participants

It was shown in Table 3 that there is no significant association between Body mass index and physical activity level of the participants (x2= 4.576, p= 0.599).

Table 1: General Distribution of Body Mass Index and Physical Activity Level of the Participants.

BMI	Frequency	%
Underweight	295	69.9
Normal weight	113	26.8
Overweight	11	2.6
Obese	3	0.7

Table 2: The Distribution of Body Mass Index among the Participants.

PA	Frequency	%
Low Activity	140	33.3
Moderate Activity	213	50.6
High Activity	68	16.2

Key; % - Percentage, BMI – Body mass index

Table 3: Association between Body Mass Index and Physical Activity Level of Participants.

Physical Activity level	Under Weight N(%)	Normal weight N (%)	Overweight N (%)	Obese N (%)	x2	p
Low Activity	98 (70.0)	36 (25.7)	6(43)	6 (0.0)	4.576	0.599
Moderate activity	150 (70.4)	58 (27.2)	3(14)	2 (0.9)
High activity	46 (67.6)	19 (27.9)	2(2.9)	1 (1.5)

Key; PA - Physical activity, x2 - Chi-square, p – Significant

Discussion

This study assessed the distribution of Body mass index and physical activities among the participants. Also determined the association of Physical activity and Body mass index levels among participants.

This study found that the majority of the participants were moderately active and underweight. Physical activities among children were supported by studies such as Vincent et al., [16], van den Berg et al., [17], and Choudhary et al., [18]. The outcomes of these aforementioned studies were contrary to the results of this study which showed that majority were underweight and participated moderately in structured physical activity. However, few studies reported the prevalent rate of underweight among Nigerian school children and supported the conclusion of this study [19-21].

Additionally, the result of this study showed that there was no significant association between body mass index and physical activity level of the participants. This is contrary to the following studies Morales et al., [22], Gokmen, [23], Chen et al., [24], Dolley et al., [25]. This contradiction of results may be due to other factors such as feeding habits as many adolescents from low socio-economic communities have poor diets or are malnourished which could contribute to weight reduction (majority of our participants are underweight) [26,27].

Conclusion

The outcome of this study showed that the majority of the public-school students in the community were underweight and there was no significant association between body mass index and their physical activity levels.

Journal of Community Medicine and Health Research