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Monday, 7 July 2008
Learning Objective 1: learn about overwight and obesity among early adolescents in Thailand
Learning Objective 2: explore factors associated with body mass index (BMI) among early-adolescents in Thailand.
Overweight and obesity among children and adolescents is concerning as a health threat and may be a major predictor of chronic illness in their later lives. Several studies indicated that families influence overweight and obesity among children and adolescents. The objective of this study was to explore factors associated with body mass index (BMI) among early-adolescents in Thailand. A sample of 661 early-adolescents age11-14 years old (age averaged 13.07, SD =0.76) from 8 provinces in the eastern region of Thailand were recruited to complete a questionnaire and measured height and weight for BMI. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Pearson's product moment correlation. The results revealed that average BMI was 19.26 (SD= 3.78); 9.5% of students had BMI ≥ 85th, and 7.86% of students had BMI ≥ 95th percentile. Significant factors related to students' BMI included obese family member (r = .269), mother BMI (r =.141), and father BMI (r =.099). To explore familial issues relate to overweight and obese among early-adolescents such as obese perception, role model, and child rearing were recommend before planning obese prevention or obese reduction intervention.