Background. Globally, obesity is becoming a public health problem in the general population. Various determinants were reported by different scholars even though there are inconsistencies. Different biomarkers of obesity were identified for the prediction of obesity. Even though researchers speculate the factors, biomarkers, consequences, and prevention mechanisms, there is a lack of aggregate and purified data in the area of obesity. Summary. In this review, the epidemiology, predisposing factors, biomarkers, consequences, and prevention approaches of obesity were reviewed. Key Messages. The epidemiology of obesity increased in low-, middle-, and high-income countries. Even if the factors vary across regions and socioeconomic levels, sociodemographic, behavioral, and genetic factors were prominent for the development of obesity. There are a lot of biomarkers for obesity, of which microRNA, adipocytes, oxidative stress, blood cell profile, nutrients, and microbiota were promising biomarkers for determination of occurrence of obesity. Since the consequences of obesity are vast and interrelated, multidimensional prevention strategy is mandatory in all nations.

Background Consuming diversified food during the adolescent period is essential to build a healthy and active mind for their later life. Food prices increased in the local market due to fewer production of crops. Thus, exploring the dietary diversity of adolescents in this area is crucial to estimate diet quality. So the aim of the study was to identify determinant factors of dietary diversity. Methods An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted among adolescent students in Woldia town. A total of four hundred eleven students were included in the study. A simple random sampling technique was used to select the participants. The outcome variable was dietary diversity; it was calculated by summing of the number of food group consumed by individuals in the given reference period. Bivariable and multivariable logistic analysis was done. The odds ratio with a 95% confidence interval was computed to measure an association. A variable with a P-value less than 0.05 is considered a significant factor. Results The proportion of inadequate dietary diversity was 49.1% (95% CI 44.5–53.8). Being female (AOR =5.53, 95% CI 3.447–8.859), secondary and above mothers’ education level (AOR=0. 27, 95%CI 0.153–0.477), living in a family size five and above (AOR= 2.09, 95CI% 1.31–3.34), and poor knowledge about nutrition (AOR=4.56, 95% CI 2.727–7.639) were significantly associated with inadequate dietary diversity. Conclusions and recommendations Inadequate dietary diversity was associated with sex, knowledge of nutrition, maternal education level, and family size. It is better to design a nutrition intervention program that focus on nutrition education to scale up diversified food consumption among adolescents.

Background Globally, over 37.9 million people are living with HIV in 2018 and sub-Saharan Africa carries 71% of the global HIV epidemics. In Ethiopia, there were an estimated 613,000 HIV cases in 2017. This study aimed to assess the trend of HIV incidence in the Amhara Region, Ethiopia. Methods A retrospective descriptive study was conducted using routine HIV data from 2015 to 2018. We extracted HIV records from the Amhara Regional Health Bureau database. Data confidentiality was secured through data anonymity. Data were entered, cleaned and analyzed by IBM SPSS version 22 (Armonk, NY, USA). Various descriptive statistics such as counts, proportions and trends were computed to see the magnitude of HIV in the study area. Results A total of 57,293 new HIV cases were reported from 2015 to 2018 and 33,720 (59%) were females. The majority, 40,054 (70%), of HIV cases were among people in 25−49 years. The overall incidence rate of HIV from 2015 to 2018 was 6.9 per 1000 population. The annual HIV incidence rates were 7.3. 6.3, 7.4 and 6.63 per 1000 population in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018, respectively. The incidence rate per 1000 population was high in Dessie town (5.74), Bahir Dar city (4.27) and Gondar town (3.00). About 49,564 (86.5%) of HIV cases have started ART and 33% of them had TB infection where 54% of them were females. Only 14869 (30%) people on ART had normal nutritional status. Conclusion HIV remains a public health concern in the Amhara Region and the burden varied by place, time, gender and age groups. Improving awareness creation and community mobilization, managing TB infection and undernutrition problems, and making HIV screening services available in all healthcare facilities are crucial to decrease HIV infection. Special attention is also required to avoid risk factors that increased HIV incidence among females.

ObjectivesIn this study, we aimed to assess the association between combined oral contraceptive (OC) use and overweight/obesity among Ethiopian adult women of reproductive age.Design, setting and participantsThe data were extracted from the 2016 Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey; these data were collected from nine regions and two city administrations. We analysed the data from a total of 11 018 women aged 18–49 years who met eligibility criteria.Main outcome measuresWe employed WHO criteria to classify the body mass index of women. Specifically we tested the association between combined OC utilisation with overweight/obesity after controlling for confounding variables.ResultThe prevalence of combined OC utilisation was 1.7% and the prevalence of overweight/obesity was 8.6% among adult women of reproductive age. Use of combined OC increases the odds of overweight/obesity by two times among adult women of reproductive age after controlling for potential confounders (adjusted OR=1.902 (1.064–3.399)).ConclusionIn conclusion there is significant association between combined OC use and overweight/obesity. The findings have important implications for policymakers to design evidence based policy approachs to obesity prevention for women and at large for government to recognise the negative consequences of combined OC on women health.

BackgroundThe burden of overweight/obesity increased worldwide and it has unpredictable effect on maternal morbidity and mortality. Different adverse perinatal outcomes observed in overweight/obese women, of those caesarean section occurred frequently. In Ethiopia, the national caesarean section and overweight/obesity rate among reproductive-aged women increased tremendously. Therefore, we intend to assess the association between overweight/obesity with caesarean section in Ethiopia.MethodThe data were extracted from the 2016 Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey in nine regions and two city administrations. A stratified two-stage random sampling design was used to collect data. The exposure variable was overweight/obesity, and the outcome variable was a caesarean section. The final analytical sample consisted of 6928 participants. SPSS V.23 was used to analyse the data. Descriptive statistics and cross-tabulation were performed to describe the study variables. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression models were regressed.ResultsThe prevalence of caesarean section among women aged between 15–49 years old who gave birth in the last 5 years was 245 (3.54%). The occurrence of caesarean section among overweight/obese women was 2.05 higher as compared with normal-weight women (AOR: 2.05, 95% CI: 1.09 - 3.83).Conclusion and recommendationPromoting weight reduction programmes throughout the country would have a greater contribution to reduce caesarean section rate and health cost, and to improve the health of the mother.