Nutritional Status of Adolescents in Selected Government and Private Secondary Schools of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Abstract

Background: Changes in the nutritional intake combined with increasingly sedentary life styles and increasing urbanization has led to the emergence of chronic disease as a major new health threat. Objective: To assess and compare nutritional status of adolescents and analyze the risk factors associated to/with overweight/obesity in government and private secondary schools of Addis Ababa, 2012. Methods: A comparative cross sectional study comprising 1024 adolescents of government and private secondary schools of Addis Ababa was conducted from February 02, 2012 to June 28, 2012. Information on socio-demographic data, eating habits and physical activity was collected using interviews. Measurements on weight and height were made using standardized weighing scales and measuring boards, respectively. Height-forage and body mass index-forage were compared to the 2007 WHO growth reference. Data were entered using Epi info version 3.5.1, WHO AnthroPlus and analyzed using SPSS version 16. Results: Overall, the prevalence of stunting (low height-forage), underweight (low body mass index-forage) and overweight/obese (high body mass index-forage) in all school adolescents was 7.2% (95% CI; 5.8, 9.0), 6.2% (95% CI; 4.9, 8.0) and 8.5% (95% CI; 6.9, 10.4), respectively. Adolescents in government schools were significantly more likely to be undernourished [stunting; 51(10.0%) versus 23(4.5%) and underweight; 36(7.0%) versus 28(5.5%)] compared to their counterparts in private schools (P-value <0.05). Adolescents in private schools were overweight/obese compared to those in government schools [65(12.7%) versus 22(4.3%); OR=3.2 (95% CI; 1.9, 5.3)]. Conclusions and recommendations: The findings of this investigation showed that being in a private school, lacking daily breakfast and consumption of animal products more than once a day are significantly associated with overweight/Obese during adolescence. Results of this study emphasize the need for educational interventions at early ages involving the whole family to promote optimal nutritional status.

Magnitude and associated factors of undernutrition (underweight and stunting) among school adolescent girls in Hawzen Woreda (District), Tigray regional state, Northern Ethiopia: Cross-sectional study

“…This study showed that 32.2% of school adolescent girls were underweight. This magnitude is higher as compared to other studies conducted in Arsi Zone ( [8,[12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24]. This might be due to the low socioeconomic status in this study area.…”

<p>Predictors of thinness and improved dietary diversity among School Aged Children in Southern Ethiopia</p>

“…7,34,35 The present study shows that the prevalence of thinness is higher than those findings from Tunisia (1.3%), 6 Arba Minch-South-Ethiopia (8%), 9 and Addis Ababa City (6.2%). 10 Undernutrition varies from region to region depending on ecological, social, economic, and other factors. In Ethiopia, at present, the most serious nutritional problems are mainly due to low socioeconomic status, inadequate diversity foods, and poor water supplies.…”

“…8 Studies done in Arba Minch area of Southern Ethiopia and Addis Ababa, capital city of Ethiopia, reported that the prevalence of thinness was 8% and 6.2%, respectively. 9,10 Similar research conducted in National School Health and Nutrition (SHN) in 2008 showed that the prevalence of thinness was 23%. 11 Socioeconomic status, place of residency, age, family size, maternal education, poor water supply & sanitation, diarrhea episodes, and eating less than three meals per day were the frequently mentioned factors that influence the nutritional status of the children.…”

“…11 Socioeconomic status, place of residency, age, family size, maternal education, poor water supply & sanitation, diarrhea episodes, and eating less than three meals per day were the frequently mentioned factors that influence the nutritional status of the children. [7][8][9][10][11] Lack of dietary diversity is a severe problem among poor populations in the developing countries, where diets are predominantly based on starchy staples which lack essential micronutrients and contribute to the burden of malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies. 12,13 Studies from different developing countries reported that those having adequate dietary diversity among school age children totaled 11.2% of Zimbabwe, 14 26.8% of Southwest Ethiopia, 15 and 75.4% of Northwest Ethiopia.…”

Nutritional Status, Dietary Practices and Physical Activities among Female Adolescents: A Cross Sectional Study in District Okara, Pakistan

“…Home environment matters a lot as there are no facilities for girl's adolescents for different activities to perform in the home they spend their little bit time on household activities like cooking, washing, ironing, cleaning of house etc. It was studied that Saudi adolescents and conclude that there were very less opportunities for female adolescents as their parents do not provide an environment for physical activities that's why they were physically inactive [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15].…”