Abstract
CONTEXT: Childhood obesity has risen dramatically in the last four decades. Childhood obesity is likely to continue through adulthood and increases the risk of non-communicable diseases later in life. AIMS: This study assessed the knowledge, attitude, and perception of the secondary school students in Ikeja local government, Lagos state towards the risk factors of overweight and obesity. METHODS AND MATERIALS: This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out using a structured questionnaire administered on consenting participants. The completed questionnaires collected from the participants was then analyzed. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Data were analyzed using SPSS version 22.0. RESULTS: The prevalence of overweight and obesity were 6.6% and 1.4%. Overall knowledge (<50%) of students regarding the risk factors of overweight and obesity was very low. Majority of the students (97.4%) do daily exercise, 48.4% spend at least 30 minutes doing exercise daily. However, 62.0% watching television, 18.7% play video games, and 35.8% sleep for more than 8 hours daily. Participants also showed negative perception towards the effects of overweight and obesity. There was a significant association between age, gender, class, and body mass with knowledge, attitude, and perception of respondents towards risk factors and effects of overweight and obesity (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Despite the low prevalence of overweight and obesity, low knowledge, poor attitude and negative perception regarding risk factors of overweight and obesity, the majority of the students perceived regular exercise as an important means of reducing overweight and obesity.