Abstract

The study investigated the influence of maternal knowledge of nutrition and physical activities on body mass index of Nigerian school pupils. Three hundred school pupils participated in this study. A structured questionnaire was used to assess the maternal’s knowledge of nutrition and physical activities. Body height and body-weight were measured with a stadiometer and a bathroom weighing scale, respectively. BMI was calculated using the formula weight (kg)/height (m2). Pearson-product moment coefficient of correlation and independent-sample t-test were used to test the hypotheses. Statistical significance was accepted for a p-value of <0.05. The results showed that the maternal knowledge of nutrition is a proportionate and a significant (p<0.05) correlate of children’s BMI. Besides, a proportionate but an insignificant (p>0.05) relationship exists between the maternal knowledge of physical activities and children’s BMI. Also, an insignificant difference (p>0.05) exists between the maternal knowledge of nutrition and physical activities, and children’s bodyweights across gender characteristics. Thus, the maternal knowledge of nutrition can determine children’s bodyweights. The maternal knowledge of physical activities is not a good determinant of children’s bodyweights. The maternal knowledge of nutrition and physical activities cannot alter the body weight of boys and girls differently.