Prevalence of overweight and obesity among selected schoolchildren and adolescents in Cofimvaba, South Africa

Abstract

Background: Childhood obesity has become a growing global epidemic. In South Africa, overweight and obesity during childhood and adolescence are rising. The objectives of this study were (i) to estimate the prevalence of overweight and obesity among selected students in Cofimvaba, a rural settlement in Eastern Cape province, South Africa, and (ii) to assess the accuracy of the mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) and ultrasound triceps skin-fold thickness (TSF) methods of predicting these health parameters Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 211 students (109 girls and 102 boys) selected randomly from five public schools in Cofimvaba and aged 6-19 years. The weight, height, MUAC and TSF were determined by standard techniques. Data obtained were subjected to descriptive statistics, Pearson correlations and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Result: Overall 1.9% (1.8% girls and 2.0% boys) of the respondents were underweight, 14.8% (21.1% and 7.8% boys) were overweight and 2.8% (4.6% girls and 1.0% boys) were obese. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was significantly higher (p < 0.05) in girls than boys during adolescence but there was no gender difference in children (6-9 years). Most of the students (80.6%) had a healthy weight, with boys being significantly (p < 0.05) healthier than girls. The BMI showed significant strong correlations with MUAC (r = 0.926; p < 0.001) and TSF (r = 0.643; p < 0.001). ROC curve analysis gave an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.795 (95% CI, 0.761-0.889) and 0.835 (95% CI, 0.771-0.899) for MUAC and TSF respectively. Conclusion: The study found a high prevalence of overweight children in the sample and a low prevalence of stunting and underweight. The adolescent girls are at a higher risk of being overweight and obese than the boys. MUAC and TSF can adequately predict overweight and obesity among the selected students.

Waist Circumference, Waist-to-Height Ratio and Body Mass Index as Parameters of Obesity Among Public Secondary School Students

“…This was very evident in the age range 15 to 17 years. This finding was corroborated by other workers [14]- [16], [20], [24], [26], [31]. This could be explained by the fact that the girls consumed more calories, being more involved in culinary chores and also were more sedentary in nature.…”

“…The combined prevalence of obesity and overweight was 9.8% (1.0% and 8.8% respectively), was not overly at variance with other studies from Nigeria [11]- [13], where the prevalence varied from rural to urban areas, and across various ethnic groups, rural youths being less obese than the urban. The prevalence of obesity and overweight was lower in these students compared to findings from South Africa [14]- [16], India [17], China [18], Saudi Arabia [19], [20], South America [21]- [24], Europe [25]- [27] and North America [28], [29]. This may be partly accounted for by the fact that these studies neither segregated public from private schools [17], [30] nor affluent [31] from the less endowed.…”

“…So increasing age was not tantamount to being overweight. However, observations from South American children [21], [23] showed younger children having a higher proportion of obesity/overweight than the older, and elsewhere [16], [26] there being no gender difference in obesity prevalence among the younger children.…”

High BMI and Low Muscular Fitness Predict Low Motor Competence in School-Aged Children Living in Low-Resourced Areas

“…For example, between 2000 and 2013, overweight and obesity increased from 11 to 19% in southern African countries, whereas the prevalence of stunted children remained almost the same [2]. In 2020, approximately 17% of the children between age 5 and 19 in South Africa presented with overweight and obesity [3], which was estimated at 19% for all children under age 19 in Ghana [4]. In general, it is often reported that more girls tend to have overweight or obesity compared to boys [5].…”

Courting emissions: climate adjudication and South Africa’s youth

“…The second layer of youth susceptible to hot climate is young girls with obesity. In South Africa, 13.5% of young people are estimated to be overweight and obese (O/O) [ 32 ]. The burden of O/O induces heat stress, as body fatness determines one’s heat tolerance level.…”