WORLD JOURNAL OF ADVANCE
HEALTHCARE RESEARCH

Seruya Otiti*, Isaac Okeyo, Abednego Ongeso, Hesbon Okeyo, Steven Okeyo and Ronnie Midigo

ABSTRACT

Obesity in children is counted as one of the upcoming challenges in health in the 21st century. The alarming increasing rate has been noted as a common nutritional problem in both developed and developing countries and is associated with increase in morbidity and mortality. The prevalence and factors associated with overweight and obesity are not well documented in developing countries including Kenya especially in a health care setting. This study was carried out to determine care giver factors associated with obesity in a national referral hospital which is at the apex of health care in Kenya. The study adopted a descriptive design. Study population comprised of 298 under five-year old children who visited paediatric emergency unit and child welfare clinic Systematic random sampling was used to select the 298 children. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 22. General descriptive statistics was applied to determine means, ranges, standard deviations and variances for the heights, weights and socio-demographic characteristics. Inferential statistics involved seeking of associations using chi square with a P-value of < 0.05 considered to be statistically significant. Charts, tables and graphs were used to present the results. The study recommends further studies to be conducted in private and county hospitals to asses’ factors influencing obesity in under fives.

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