Abstract:
Obesity is a diet-related condition and it refers to an abnormally high proportion of body fat. Various studies
carried out in the United States reveal that obesity stems right from childhood. Childhood obesity is the most
prevalent and common nutritional condition among the urban population and it is becoming an area of public
concern. Cited literature suggests that feeding habits, especially during infancy and childhood predisposes the
child to obesity in adulthood. This was a descriptive study aimed at investigating obesity and factors that
contribute to obesity among Pre-adolescents. The respondents were randomly selected from two day private
primary schools in Nairobi. Systematic random sampling was used to select pupils from each school making a
sample of 120 pupils. School head-teachers were also included in the sample. Data were collected by use of
questionnaires, an interview schedule and an observation checklist. Both qualitative and quantitative data were
collected. Qualitative data were analyzed by coding raw data into common themes to form patterns. Quantitative
data were analyzed by computer through the use of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Linear
regression analysis was used to test the hypothesis. Results were reported using frequencies and percentages.
The study showed that there was a significant relationship between eating habits of the pre-adolescents and
obesity. Eating food three times a day and eating any time were positively correlated with obesity. In the schools
studied, 40% of the respondents ate food three times in a day while (50%) consumed food at any time of the day.
The reasons given for these trends of food consumption were: availability of money, peer pressure, boredom and
influence by media. Skipping meals had a very significant relationship with obesity. The t-statistic of –2.88 was
significant at 5% significant level. This implied that an obese person could reduce their BMI by 2.0 points by
skipping meals. On the other hand, eating between meals was positively correlated with obesity and the result
was significant at 10% significant level. Data collected indicated that 55.8% of the respondents ate between
meals. A third of the respondents were found to have a BMI of over 26, which indicates evidence of overweight.
