Anthropometric indices and cardiometabolic risk factors in a Ghanaian adolescent population

Abstract

ObjectivesAdolescent overweight and obesity is a public health concern globally, especially in lower- and middle- income countries where there is an additional burden of undernutrition. The prevalence of adolescent overweight/2obesity has increased markedly over the past three decades. The transition in dietary habits coupled with reduced physical activity has been blamed for the increasing trend. Overweight/obesity in adolescence is complicated by cardiometabolic, respiratory, musculoskeletal and psychosocial disorders. Additionally, adolescent obesity is a predictor of future development of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and metabolic disorders. The burden of cardiometabolic risk factors associated with adolescent overweight/obesity in Ghana is lacking, the project, therefore, was undertaken to add to the existing knowledge.MethodsThe study was undertaken in adolescent students of a tertiary institution in Ghana. Two hundred and one students consented to participate in the study. Questionnaires on sociodemographic characteristics, dietary and substance abuse habits were self-administered. Blood pressure, height, weight and waist circumference measures were performed and venous blood drawn for the determination of fasting serum total/LDL/HDL cholesterol and triglycerides. Body mass indices were determined as the weight per square of their heights.ResultsThe prevalence of obesity was determined to be 15.81% generally, 27.71% in the females and 7.08% in the males. Diastolic blood pressure was the only cardiometabolic risk factor significantly associated with obesity in our study.ConclusionOverweight/obesity is common in Ghanaian adolescents, with the prevalence highest in the female population.

Food systems thinking unpacked: a scoping review on industrial diets among adolescents in Ghana

“…Another (Ganle et al, 2019) found that children (5-16 year-olds) who consumed fizzy drinks on most days had statistically significant increased odds of being obese compared to children who hardly or did not consume any fizzy drinks at all. Another study (Sirikyi et al, 2021) found that ice cream intake was predictive of overweight/obesity but did not find significant Darling et al (2020) association between fast food intake and sweetened beverages intake and BMI categories.…”

“…The sample sizes used in the studies vary. In one case, a study that looked at food consumption in orphanages included only 40 participants purposively sampled (Sadik, 2010), while another study included all first-year students (196) who reported for medical test at a university in the Cape Coast region (Sirikyi et al, 2021). Other studies had much larger sample sizes.…”

“…Nearly all studies (23) addressed the food consumption domain of dietary patterns and behaviours (Abiba et al, 2012;Abizari & Ali, 2019;Appiah et al, 2021;Aryeetey et al, 2017;Buxton, 2014;Darling et al, 2020;Fernandes et al, 2017;Ganle et al, 2019;Holdsworth et al, 2020;Intiful & Lartey, 2014;Ogum Alangea et al, 2018;Ogum-Alangea et al, 2020;Oyekale, 2019;Pradeilles et al, 2021;Ross et al, 2017;Sadik, 2010;Sirikyi et al, 2021;Smith et al, 2021;Stevano et al, 2020a, b;Yang et al, 2017). A breakdown of the food consumption domain shows that the most popular category was dietary intake which was included in all the studies except Fernandes et al (2017) where focus was on dietary habits (e.g., breakfast consumption, packed meals vs spending at or near school).…”