Factors Related to Obesity Prevention Behaviors of Students at the Demonstration School, Ramkhamhaeng University, Bangkok

Abstract

The objectives of this research were (1) to study the personal, predisposing, enabling, and reinforcing factors and also obesity prevention behaviors of students at the demonstration school, Ramkhamhaeng university, Bangkok, and (2) to study the relationships among the personal, predisposing, enabling, and reinforcing factors with obesity prevention behaviors of students at the demonstration school, Ramkhamhaeng university.

The sample used in this study was the first year of 170 high school students of the demonstration school, Ramkhamhaeng university. The questionnaires used in this research covered contents with 5 sections, i.e., personal factors, predisposing factors (knowledge and self-efficacy), enabling factors (access to facilities of fitness places, and cafeteria), reinforcing factors in preventing obesity (social supports from families, friends and teachers) and obesity prevention behaviors. The reliability of this questionnaire was 0.958. The data were collected during 11-18 February 1962, and were analyzed using descriptive statistics, percent, mean, standard deviation, Chi-square test, and Pearson's product moment correlation coefficients with a level of significance at p = .05.

The findings of this study revealed that most sample was male (54.10 percent). About 52.40 percent of sample students had body mass index classified as obesity level (BMI > 23.5). Students' family incomes were between 15,000-176,666 Baht per month (98.80 percent). Students received parents' money about 60-106 baht per day (79.40 percent). Students had both knowledge (43.50 percent) and self-efficacy (52.9 percent) in preventing obesity at medium level. Also, students had both enabling factors (40.00 percent), and reinforcing factors (47.60 percent) in preventing obesity at high level. Whereas, students' obesity prevention behaviors (46.50 percent) were at medium level. In terms of association analysis, sex and nutrition status were associated with obesity prevention behaviors, ( X² = 23.60, and 42.13, respectively), statistically significant at the0.01 level. The students' money daily received, enabling factors, and reinforcing factors were correlated with obesity prevention behaviors, (r=0.614, 0.747, and 0641, respectively), statistically significant at the .01 level. Self-efficacy was also correlated with obesity prevention behaviors,(r = 0.160), statistically significant at the .05 level. Average family's incomes and knowledges about obesity had no relationships with obesity prevention behaviors (p > .05).