For the last blog in this semester, I will analyze an original research that relates to the issue of healthy weight in children. My chosen article is " Weight status and health characteristic of rural Saskatchewan children". The research was done by Professor H Bilinski, D Rennie of University of Saskatchewan and Professor W Duggleby of University of Alberta. In Canada, there is great concern that the rate of obesity and overweight in children goes up significantly. Children are on the way to shape their health behaviors that influences their weight status as well as their patterns of living as continue into adolescents. Recent national studies suggest that most of Canadian children do not meet the requirement for daily physical activities, get involve too much in "screening time" and do not eat the recommended daily serving for dairy, fruit, or vegetables. The youth populations in rural settings are reported to be more overweight and obese than their counterparts in the urban area. Saskatchewan is the province that ranks fifth for the prevalence of childhood obesity and there are limited data on the health characteristics of rural Saskatchewan kids. In order to promote healthy pattern of living for children in specific area, this study explores the health behaviors and weight status in children of rural Saskatchewan for further information.
Method:
This investigation was approved by the University of Saskatchewan's Behavioral Research, Ethics Board, the Director of Education and Principle of participating school. The cross - sectional health questionnaires were based on the portions of the Health Behavior of the School Aged Children to gather self - reported information about children's physical activities, sedentary behaviors, dietary patterns and perceptions of health. Students completed the questionnaire with the help of parents or guardian. There were 194 questionnaires provided to participants and 99 of them were returned completely. Heights and weights were measured individually and collected by researchers to calculate the BMI. Children were classified by their BMI as a healthy
weight or unhealthy weight based on the international standards for calculating childhood obesity.
Result and Discussion:
This study found that there is a high proportion of boy being categorized as unhealthy weight compared with the opposite sex. There are 42.9% of boy and 25% of girl were classified as being overweight or obesity. The population of unhealthy weight children also rises by age. Interestingly, almost all children considered themselves as being very healthy despite their weight status. Boys were reported to spend more time playing computer games. Children living in town spent more time watching television compared with rural kids. Boys and girls participated in different kinds of sport; however, there is no significant difference in the attendance in physical activities between rural and urban area. This finding supports a previous study conducted in Ontario where a significantly greater prevalence of obesity in boys. Moreover, there are limited data on examination the health behaviors between farm and non- farm areas
However, there are some limitations. The data collection method was not efficient that results in the low response rate ( 51%) and inaccuracy self - report information. Furthermore, the HBSC questionnaires was initially designed for adolescents, so it increases the possibility of children`s potential lacking of fully understanding. The BMI is also a limitation because it is not a very good indication compared with the other method (e.g. body composition).
As we can see, this finding suggests that the health status of children in rural Saskatchewan is influenced by physical inactivity. That might lead to the very high risk of overweight or obese in childhood and even adulthood after. In addition, boys are at greater potential for childhood obesity. It confirms that there should be an urgent health promotion effort for each specific genders in the rural settings to slow down the rate of overweight kids in rural Saskatchewan as well as many rural regions in Canada.
Reference:
H Bilinski, D Rennie and W Dugggleby (2011). Weight status and health characteristics of rural Saskatchewan children. Rural and Remote Health 11:1699. (Online) 2011
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