The prevalence of underweight, overweight, obesity and associated risk factors among school-going adolescents in seven African countries

Manyanga, Taru; El-Sayed, Hesham; Doku, David Teye; Randall, Jason R.

doi:10.1186/1471-2458-14-887

Cited by 153 publications

(175 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…In that survey, overweight was highest prevalent in Egypt (31.9%); almost four times that of Ghana. Moreover, Egypt had the highest obesity prevalence in that study at 9.3% [21].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Socio-behavioral Determinants of Overweight and Obesity in Egyptian Primary School Children

Taha¹,

Marawan²

2015

J Child Adolesc Behav

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Objectives: This study was conducted to assess socio-behavioral factors of overweight and obesity in primary Egyptian school children such as: residence, type of school, parent education, entertainment and dietary behaviors. Methods:The study was cross sectional and was conducted from May 2013 to August 2014 in Menoufia governorate in Egypt. 354 children aged 8-12 years brought consent from parents to participate and were enrolled in the study. The BMI percentile for students was calculated using a percentile online calculator. Results:The prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity was 23.7% and 19.5% respectively. The most important predictors to overweight and obesity in the students were eating restaurant food at least twice weekly, TV watching more than 2 hours per day, mother employment and pocket money. Conclusion:Values for overweight and obesity in our study have approached the developed world high values. The most important risk factors for obesity and overweight in the developing societies that should be targeted by policy makers are restaurant foods, TV watching, mother employment and pocket money.

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“…In that survey, overweight was highest prevalent in Egypt (31.9%); almost four times that of Ghana. Moreover, Egypt had the highest obesity prevalence in that study at 9.3% [21].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Socio-behavioral Determinants of Overweight and Obesity in Egyptian Primary School Children

Taha¹,

Marawan²

2015

J Child Adolesc Behav

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“…Until recently, high rates of childhood overweight/ obesity were observed mainly in developed countries, with an average prevalence of above 20% in the Americas and Europe, compared to less than 10% in Africa and Asia [4] . However, recent studies illustrate an increase in prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity in developing regions, such as Africa and Asia [5,6] , while in developed regions childhood overweight/ obesity begins to reach a plateau (mostly in the US, Europe and Oceania) [7,8] . In recent years, a growing body of literature has been emphasizing the impact of community and environmental factors on childhood obesity [9,10] , beyond the effect of individual characteristics.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Socioeconomic and Spatial Dimensions of Adolescent Overweight and Obesity: The Case of Arab and Jewish Towns in Israel

Moran¹,

Moran²,

Goldblatt³

et al. 2015

JEHS

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Childhood and adolescent overweight/obesity is a major burden on public health worldwide. A growing body of empirical evidence highlights the impact of community characteristics of childhood obesity. This study explored socioeconomic and spatial variations of adolescent overweight/obesity in Israel by using an ecological approach. Towns' socioeconomic and spatial characteristics were found associated with adolescent overweight/obesity in opposite directions in Jewish and Arab towns. Adolescent overweight/obesity was found to be more prevalent in Jewish towns characterized by lower socioeconomic rank (SER) and higher peripherality levels and in Arab towns characterized by higher SER and lower peripheraliy levels. Additionally, inequalities were found to be positively related to adolescent overweight/obesity in Jewish towns. After adjusting for SER, the associations between peripherality and adolescent overweight/obesity were attuned in Jewish towns, but not in Arab towns. These findings correspond with the literature, as the results obtained for the Jewish and Arab towns are consistent with studies conducted in developed and in developing countries, respectively. Therefore, the findings highlight the importance of macro level factors enhancing obesity, and suggest that national policy may benefit from town-level interventions addressing adolescent overweight/ obesity. Several explanations to the study's findings are discussed, involving social, environmental and individual factors.

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“…Although the global prevalence of undernutrition in adolescents is not known, a recent survey of 7 African countries shows rates ranging from 12.6% (Egypt) to 31.9% (Djibouti) and a twofold elevated risk in boys. 82 This finding suggests that inadequate nutrition is chronic in adolescents, leading to additional challenges in addressing the mental health and developmental consequences of adolescents who experienced early childhood malnutrition. Table 4 summarizes gaps in knowledge related to evidence-based interventions for adolescents in LRS: from basic science and translational studies to clinical care.…”

Section: Implications For Research Program and Policy Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neurodevelopment: The Impact of Nutrition and Inflammation During Adolescence in Low-Resource Settings

Galler

Koethe

Yolken³

2017

Pediatrics

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Approximately 1 out of 5 children worldwide suffers from childhood malnutrition or stunting and associated health conditions, including an increased susceptibility to infections and inflammation. Due to improved early interventions, most children even in low-resource settings now survive early childhood malnutrition, yet exhibit continuing evidence of neurodevelopmental deficits, including poor school achievement and behavioral problems. These conditions are compounded in children who continue to be undernourished throughout the adolescent years. At present, these sequelae of malnutrition and infection are of major concern in the adolescent population, given that young people between the ages of 10 and 24 years represent nearly one-quarter of the world’s population. Therefore, there is an urgent need to focus on the well-being of this age group and, in particular, on behavioral, cognitive, and brain disorders of adolescents who experienced malnutrition, infection, and inflammation prenatally, in early childhood, and during adolescence itself. Because one-third of all women globally become pregnant during their adolescent years, brain and behavioral disorders during this period can have an intergenerational impact, affecting the health and well-being of the next generation. This article summarizes the current state of knowledge and evidence gaps regarding childhood and adolescent malnutrition and inflammation and their impact on adolescent neurodevelopment, the limited evidence regarding nutrition and psychosocial interventions, and the role of resilience and protective factors in this age group. This overview should help to inform the development of new strategies to improve the neurodevelopmental outcomes of high risk adolescent populations.

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The prevalence of underweight, overweight, obesity and associated risk factors among school-going adolescents in seven African countries

Cited by 153 publications

References 66 publications

Socio-behavioral Determinants of Overweight and Obesity in Egyptian Primary School Children

Socio-behavioral Determinants of Overweight and Obesity in Egyptian Primary School Children

The Socioeconomic and Spatial Dimensions of Adolescent Overweight and Obesity: The Case of Arab and Jewish Towns in Israel

Neurodevelopment: The Impact of Nutrition and Inflammation During Adolescence in Low-Resource Settings

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