A study to assess the knowledge regarding obesity and its long-term complications among adolescents from selected higher secondary school, Udupi

Teenagers from a chosen higher secondary school in Udupi were asked to rate their awareness of obesity and its long-term consequences using descriptive research methods and a descriptive survey approach. A systematic, self-administered knowledge questionnaire was developed to evaluate adolescents' knowledge of obesity in light of the nature of the problem and to meet the study's aims. The validity and reliability of the tool were confirmed by interaction with guides and professionals in the fields of medicine and nursing. The study was carried out in the Udupi Christian English Medium School. 100 teenagers were chosen using the purposive sampling method. A structured knowledge survey was utilized to collect the data. Collected data was analysed by using descriptive and inferential statistics. The majority on the obesity spectrum, 16 (16%) and 84 (84%) of the teenagers had moderate knowledge scores. An examination of the adolescents' knowledge score on obesity by area reveals that the average knowledge score was 16.62, the mean percentage was 47, and the standard deviation was 3.186. Knowledge scores were significantly correlated with the chi square value of characteristics like family type. Additional factors include age, gender, birth order, religion, family income, parents' occupations and levels of education, nutrition, habit of consuming junk food, means of transportation to school, leisure activities, length of time spent watching TV, and length of time spent playing video games. Exercise, issues of any kind, family history of obesity, and personal history of obesity do not significantly correlate. Therefore, the hypothesis H1 is partially accepted. According to the survey, most teenagers didn't know much about obesity and its long-term effects. An incomplete statistically significant correlation was observed between the knowledge score of teenagers and demographic factors.