Medical Statistics of Obesity in Children - Term Paper Example

Medical Statistics: Article Review Name Course Name and Code Instructor’s Name Date Introduction Obesity in children is increasingly becoming common and is also evident in adulthood (Singh et al., 2008). Obesity is a medical condition whereby there is an excess proportion of the total body fat. An individual is considered to be obese when their weight is more than 20% the normal weight. This state of medical condition has a number of physical as well as negative psychological health consequences (Singh et al., 2008). Obesity is said to occur when an individual consumes excess calories than they can actually burn. Being obese is as a result a number of factors for instance eating too much and exercising too little. This paper aims at explaining the association between family activity and environment and the health behaviour of children. It will include study design and the data that were collected, the statistical methods used and the results and discussion. Study design and the data that were collected The study had been approved by Flinders University Social Behavioural Research Ethics committee. The approval was given by the Department of Education and Children’s services. Additionally, the consent form was given. The study has used the experimental research design whereby the subjects were identified, placed in a common context, intervened and effects of the intervention explained (Bartholomew et al, 2008). The Local Government areas in Adelaide metropolitan region were ranked as well as quantified into quartiles using the Australian Bureau of Statistics Socioeconomic Index for Areas (SEIFA). From each quartile, a single Local Government Area was randomly selected. The website of the Department of Education and Children services was used to describe the selected government schools in the Local Government Area. From each selected Local Government Area, 10 schools were randomly selected. Moreover, a letter informing the school was sent to the principal of all the schools selected which were 40 in total. Out of the 40 schools, invited only 11 honoured the invitation signifying the socioeconomic spectrum. Also invited to participate were the families with children in reception to 5 years. The assessments were carried out during the first and second school terms in 2007 that is from March 2007 to the tail end of June 2007. The assessment was attended by a minimum of one parent and their children. The respondents comprised of 106 parents to children between 5-11 years of age. Of the 106 parents, 92.4% were mothers between 35 and 44 years who were married (80.9%). The education levels of the parents varied greatly, Tertiary qualifications - 42%, trade and technical qualifications - 22.3%, high school qualification or less – 22.3 %. Most of the parents were in employment with 51 % of them in part time employment and 17 % in full time employment. The levels of the children’s activity were examined using the Children’s Leisure Activity Study Survey (CLASS). The measurement described the normal activity and took into account relative as well as vigorous activities, weekday and weekend participation. The questionnaire used is parent reported and was authenticated against accelerometer. In addition, it was reported to be a reliable study of habitual activity in the young. Also in the questionnaires were questions regarding often screen time. This included television as well as all the electronic gaming. From this, the average time spent by the children on total activity as well as total screen behaviours was analyzed and presented in minutes daily. Furthermore, the children’s dietary was analyzed by use of a 24-hour recall. The data collected was reported using three factors namely; parental involvement which had 14 items. This factor demonstrated most variance as well as the highest Cronbach’s alpha value (0.88), the second factor was labelled Opportunities for role modelling. It had eight items. The factor demonstrated a variance of 10% and a Cronbach’s alpha value of 0.79, Parental support was the third factor which had 3 items which elucidated 9% of the variance and its Cronbach’s alpha value was 0.79 (Golley et al, 2011). Statistical methods used with an explanation The data collected was analyzed using a statistical method namely explanatory factor analysis. Factor analysis is a term used to refer to the statistical method that is used to demonstrate variability in any observed and correlated variables in terms of relatively less variables that are not observed commonly referred to as factors (Bartholomew et al, 2008). Generally, the factor analysis usually searches for this kind of joint variations in an attempt to respond to the talent variables that have not been observed (Bartholomew et al, 2008). The questionnaire in this study comprised of 29 items regarding the family activity environment. In order to characterize the factors of the family activity environment that was rationalized from the modified questions in the questionnaire, an explanatory factor analysis was used. A suitability test was carried out before applying the factor analysis. It is evident from the inspection of the correlation matrix that a majority of the coefficients were over 0.35. In addition, a Kaiser-Meyer- Oklin value of over 0.5 designates sampling adequacy that was being supported within the analysis (KMO= 0.77). Besides, the Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity was vitally important, (p Read More