| dc.description.abstract | Many studies have identified the relationship
between Body Mass Index (BMI) and physical
activity level. The purpose of this study was
to identify the prevalence of underweight,
overweight and obesity and to examine the
relationship between BMI and physical activity
level of 16-18 year old adolescents in Kurunegala
district. A cross-sectional study was conducted.
Four hundred and twenty students (205 males and
215 females) were selected using stratified random
sampling technique. Data was gathered using
the physical activity questionnaire to measure
the physical activity level. BMI categories of
overweight, obesity, normal weight, thinness and
severe thinness were determined based on WHO
growth reference. Descriptive statistics, Mann
Whitney U test and Spearman correlation tests
were used to analyze data. The results revealed
that the percentages of students in normal,
underweight, over-weight and obese categories
were 62.1%, 31.9%, 4.5% and 1.4%, respectively.
Also, a significant difference (P<0.05) of physical
activity level was observed between children in
urban and rural areas. There was no correlation
between BMI and physical activity level of
students in Kurunegala district (r=0.015, p=0.766).
It can be concluded that there is no relationship
between BMI and physical activity level of
students in Kurunegala district and there were
more underweight students than overweight and
obese students. Also, underweight adolescents
can be found in both urban and rural areas and
prevalence of obesity was higher in urban areas. | en_US |
