Relationship between breakfast consumption, BMI status and physical fitness of Ghanaian school-aged children.

backgroundGood nutrition and physical activity of school-aged children are important for ensuring optimum growth and reducing obesity. This present study assessed associations between breakfast consumption, BMI-for-Age (BMI) and physical fitness in a cross-section of school-aged children attending government-owned primary schools in Kumasi, Ghana.

methodThe sample consisted of 438 pupils (boys = 213; girls = 225; mean age 11.1 ± 1.1), attending 10 randomly selected schools. Weight (kg), height (cm) and Mid Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) were measured for each participant, and BMI-for-age z-scores determined using the World Health Organisation (WHO) anthroplus software. Participants were stratified into thinness, normal weight, overweight/obese using WHO cut offs. Physical fitness was assessed using forward jump, left and right handgrips, flexibility, sit-ups and 50 metre run following standard procedures and converted to scores of 1 to 10 following Japanese standards, based on which percentiles were derived. Total fitness score for each pupil was computed by adding all scores. A questionnaire was used to assess meal intake patterns.

resultsThe mean BMI-for-age z-score for participants was - 0.24 ± 0.99. Thinness, normal weight and overweight/obesity were 2.7, 86.5, and 10.5% respectively among the pupils. Overweight was higher in girls (14.2%) compared to boys (4.2%),

conclusionUnderweight levels were low while overweight was over 10% in these children. Girls were more than 3 times affected by overweight than boys, and were also physically fitter than boys. Breakfast consumption was not related to weight or fitness.