EFFECTS OF NUTRITIONAL STATUS AND LIFESTYLE ON PHYSICAL FITNESS AMONG URBAN AND RURAL CHILDREN
Main Article Content
Keywords
nutritional status, lifestyle, physical fitness
Abstract
Background:
Urban children tend to have sedentary lifestyles due to screen time, longer commutes, and limited outdoor recreational spaces, while rural children engage in more physical activity. Access to recreational facilities and socioeconomic factors also influence these lifestyle differences.
Objective: This study provides an overview of the effects of nutritional status and lifestyle on physical fitness among urban and rural children.
Material and methods: The study used a random sampling technique to select 30 urban and 30 rural primary school students from Karachi and Mirpur mathelo. A questionnaire with eight questions was filled out, and the data was examined. SPSS 22.0 was used for the data analysis.
Results: Results have shown that there is little to very low difference among lifestyle patterns among urban and rural children. When comparing urban and rural youngsters, we discovered a significant p-value (0.006). We asked how many hours you spent performing any of the following activities on an ordinary school day: watching TV/movies, games, reading, and schoolwork, and we found a significant result, as the mean was greater in urban children than rural children. The results revealed a higher significance level in urban children than in rural children.
Further, results show that how many days students attend physical education classes. When the weights of urban and rural children were compared, it was discovered that among Urban children 22 had balanced weight, 5 were little overweight, and 3 were slightly underweight. Among rural children, 21 had a balanced weight, seven were little overweight, and two were slightly underweight. After using the chi square test, the results showed an insignificant p value (0.757).
Conclusion: Urban and rural children face unique nutritional and lifestyle challenges, affecting physical fitness. Addressing these requires a multidimensional approach considering availability of healthy foods, physical activity opportunities, and socioeconomic factors.
References
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Pinky
Lecturer, Institute Of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Sciences, Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences Jamshoro, Hyderabad, Pakistan.
Ghazala Langah
Lecturer, Institute of Physiotherapy & Rehabilitation Sciences (IPRS), Liaquat University of Medical & Health Sciences, Jamshoro, Pakistan
Syed Mukhtar Ahmed
Physiotherapist,Institute of Physiotherapy & Rehabilitation Sciences (IPRS), Liaquat University of Medical & Health Sciences, Jamshoro
Priyanka Ratan Kumar
Lecturer, National Institute Of Physical Therapy And Rehabilitation Sciences Affiliated With Dow University Of Health Sciences, Karachi
Reya Chawla
Physiotherapist, Milestone & Adaptive Fitness Academy, Karachi
Muneeza Lodhi
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ziauddin University, Karachi