• Sujitha. S
• Chithra. R

Background: Childhood obesity is one of the major public health concerns of the 21st century. Methods: Overweight / obese School students (n = 200) of 11 to 16 years of age of both the genders were selected by random sampling method from four different schools in Madurai city. Questionnaires were used to test the knowledge of the selected subjects on obesity and general nutrition. Education on “Nutrition and Obesity” was imparted to students in groups through PowerPoint presentations in several sessions and their doubts were cleared. After a period of 15 days a post test was held for students in groups using the same questionnaire. Pamphlets with details on balanced diet, general nutrition, obesity and preventive measures were prepared both in English and Tamil (vernacular language) and distributed. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS (16.0 package). Results: The impact of the education program was studied using paired ‘t’ test. The mean score obtained in the pre - test by the selected school children was only 4.33 out of 15. In the post - test the mean score increased significantly to 14.55. This was proved by the paired ‘t’ test (p>0.05). This shows the importance of nutrition education in improving the awareness about obesity, general nutrition and health.

overweight, obesity, nutrition education, school students

"Impact of Nutrition Education among Selected Overweight / Obese School going Students", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.6, Issue 6, page no.616-619, June 2019, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1907V94.pdf

"Impact of Nutrition Education among Selected Overweight / Obese School going Students", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.6, Issue 6, page no. pp616-619, June 2019, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1907V94.pdf