The Effect of Obesity Awareness of Body Mass Index and Blood Pressure in Primary School Students

Abstract

Background: This study aimed to examine the effect of obesity awareness on blood pressure and body mass index in primary school students. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out with a total of 633 students, primary schools located in the western Anatolia of Turkey. Data were collected using a Socio-Demographic Data Collection Form and the Obesity Awareness Scale (OAS). Spearman’s Correlation Analysis, Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis, and Bonferroni tests were used to analyze the study data. Results: The students 12.6% were overweight, 11.8% were obese, 9.8% had stage-1 hypertension, and 2.1% had stage-2 hypertension. The mean total score of the students from the obesity awareness scale (OAS) was 20.36 and moderate level of obesity awareness, no statistical difference was found between blood pressure and OAS and its sub-scales (p>0.05). There was a statistically significant difference between BMI and the physical activity sub-scales of (OAS) (p<0.05). Conclusion: The obesity awareness of those who were female, whose father had an undergraduate degree, whose mother was a high school graduate, who did sports regularly, and who had breakfast at home was higher. Obesity awareness had no effect on blood pressure, and there was a significant relationship between BMI and physical activity sub-scales of the obesity awareness scale.