Proposed guidelines of educational practices for the prevention of obesity of students primary schools under the Office of the Basic Education Commission
Abstract:
The purposes of this research study were to 1) describe the current situation about the obesity of sixth grade students in primary schools under the Office of the Basic Education Commission (OBEC), 2) study correlation among factors affecting the prevalence of obesity of sixth grade students, and 3) study and synthesize educational guidelines and practices for obesity prevention in primary schools. Research methodology being used was a mixed - methods approach. The research included 67 primary public schools. Data collection was conducted by using student, teacher, and administrator questionnaires and teacher and school administrator interviews. The results were as follows: 1) the current situation regarding obesity found that the prevalence of obesity among sixth grade students was 20.6 % and they have both rate of consumption behavior and energy expenditure behavior at a good level. 2) All factors related to teachers and administrators illustrated negative correlation with the prevalence of obesity at the .05 level of significant, except the curriculum management. 3) Educational guidelines and practices for obesity prevention included the fact that school administrators should set a policy management on exercise and health, food and nutrition, and their students towards obesity awareness. Teachers should provide learning activities by arranging for students to participate in a variety of activities so students are physically active, not sedentary. And they should organize the extracurricular activities to encourage students to do activities.