ABSTRACT Childhood and adolescent obesity tends to extend into adulthood and predisposes the individual to some chronic diseases in later life. Body composition is a good parameter for evaluating obesity and nutritional status of children. This study aimed to investigate differences in body fat of Nigerian school children in Makurdi, Nigeria. The study sample consisted of a cross-sectional study of 979 boys and 1036 girls who were aged 9-12 years. Anthropometric measures of stature, body mass, triceps, subscapular and medial calf skinfolds were assessed. Percentage body fat in girls ranged from 15.2-17.4%, which was consistently higher than that in boys, i.e. 10.3- 11.9%. Generally, the girls had higher measures of adipose tissue (sum of skinfolds and percentage body fat) than boys. The Nigerian girls at all ages had higher percentage body fat compared to the boys, which indicates gender differences in the children’s body fatness. The study provides a baseline assessment of body fatness in Nigerian children. Future studies on tracking of percentage body fat in relation to nutritional and fitness levels in Nigerian children are needed so that the children, parents and teachers can obtain reliable information about body composition and health related fitness.

No description available.

If designers are to meet the needs of the growing population of older and disabled people then data on size, shape, posture and capabilities will be increasingly important. This thesis details a methodology for the collection of anthropometry, joint constraints, reach range, postural capability and task specific information, to create a unique database of `individuals'. These data were then used in the development of a computer-based design tool (HADRIAN), to allow design professionals to estimate the percentage of people who could be accommodated by a design. Having complete data sets for individuals is vital to enable multivariate analysis, as opposed to traditional univariate percentile data. Following a review of the literature two interview surveys were conducted with 32 design professionals and 50 older and disabled people. The majority of designers were aware of the philosophy of `design for all', but rarely considered the approach due to perceived time and financial costs. With respect to older and disabled people it was found that nearly all experienced problems completing basic activities of daily life, and that improvements to existing designs could improve quality of life. Activities such as being able to cook a meal, and use the bath were reported as being particularly important. Firstly, a pilot study was conducted with 8 participants to assess the different data collection options. Data were then collected on 100 people, with the majority being older and/or disabled, and encompassing a wide range of capabilities. From these data it was possible to see that the anthropometric data showed a range beyond 15` and 99`h percentile for each dimension when compared to existing anthropometry data, and a breadth of variation in task specific behaviours. Validation trials were then conducted to compare the actual task performance of 10 of the 100 `individuals' with that predicted by HADRIAN, with postures and task capabilities being correctly predicted for open-access reach-and-lift tasks. This gives some confidence that it is possible to predict postures and capabilities from the data collected.

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Also available in print.

Inaug.-diss.--Dorpat.

Proefschrift - Amsterdam. / "Geraadpleegde literatuur": p. [159]-161.

Thesis (MNutr)--University of Stellenbosch, 2008. / Bibliography. Also available via the Internet.

Originally presented at the author's thesis, Copenhagen, 1968. / Includes bibliographical references.

Proefschrift - Amsterdam. / "Geraadpleegde literatuur": p. [159]-161.

Originally presented at the author's thesis, Copenhagen, 1968. / Includes bibliographical references.