Suchergebnisse

SummaryThis study assessed gender and rural/urban differences in height and weight, and the prevalence of stunting, underweight and overweight of school-going adolescents in south-west Nigeria, using 2007 WHO reference values for comparison. The influence of sexual maturity and the socio-demographic correlates of growth performance were also examined. In this cross-sectional study, 924 male (51.4%) and 875 female (48.6%) students (1799 in total) aged 10–19 years from eighteen schools in Ibadan (five rural, nine urban public and four urban private) were interviewed and examined. Although males were significantly taller than females (p<0.05), stunting was more pronounced for males, who were 7.5 cm shorter than the 2007 WHO reference, compared with females who were 3.5 cm shorter. Body mass index (BMI) for girls was also greater than for boys (p<0.05). Rural adolescents had lower heights and BMIs compared with those in urban areas. The mean height of male adolescents in rural schools fell below 2 SDs of the 2007 WHO reference between 14 and 17 years, while heights of males and females in private schools were similar to the median 2007 WHO standard. Low height-for-age was observed in 282 adolescents (15.7%), which, after multivariate analysis, was significantly associated with school type, gender, number of mother's children and puberty onset. Adolescents in rural schools were much more likely to be stunted than those in urban private schools (AOR 13.1; 95% CI 5.2–33.2) and males were three times more likely to be stunted compared with females (AOR 3.3; 95% CI 2.4–1.4). Low BMI-for-age was observed in 240 adolescents (18.9%), with correlates similar to stunting. Adolescents at the pre-puberty stage were twice as likely to have low BMI-for-age (OR 2.0; 95% CI 1.6–2.5) than those with signs of puberty. There were 2.3% overweight adolescents, who were significantly more likely to be female, in private school and post-pubertal. Innovative interventions for Nigerian adolescents, especially rural inhabitants and males, are needed to reduce the prevalence of stunting and underweight.

The youth constitute a significant demographic group with peculiar developmental and reproductive health needs. They encounter challenges such as limited access to proper health information needed for informed life choices and this makes them vulnerable to risky behaviour that threatens their proper development and well-being. This survey sought to find out the current and the preferred sources of information for the youth about family life health education (FLHE). It also sought to ascertain the preparedness of teachers to provide such education to in-school youth. The survey was a cross sectional study among in-school youth, out-of-school youth and science teachers in 6 selected schools in Nasarawa State, Nigeria. The findings showed that school teachers (44.1%), and mothers (28.4%) are the most common sources of FLHE information for the youth. Only 4% of the youth consider this to be satisfactory. About 36% would prefer impersonal sources such as television, films or magazines. This findings suggest that there is an urgent need for government and youth development stakeholders to redirect efforts to upscale the teaching of family life health education in schools as that is where pupils are currently obtaining the information they need. It is therefore suggested that more training should be conducted for teachers while the FLHE curriculum should be adapted to meet local needs. It is also important to prepare educational materials for media such as films, videos and magazines, as the youth have a preference for these sources.