“…The full‐text review resulted in a total of 72 included references 56‐127 reporting on a total of 71 studies from 27 different countries, with 23 studies conducted in Africa, 34 in Asia, and 14 in South America. Figure 1 shows details of references screened, included and excluded, and Table 1 shows the general characteristics of the included studies.…”
Section: Resultsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Soccer is for men, ballet is for women, this is like saying strength and delicacy … ( 98 Costa Rica, adolescents)Girls were also not expected to show muscles, 64 look sweaty, messy or tanned, 64,66,98,102 because these were signs of poverty or masculinity. Menstruation, 66 school uniforms and religious dress codes also kept women and girls from being active 60,103,104 . Furthermore, women and girls were less likely to engage in physical activity due to prohibition in some countries on them being unaccompanied in public 58,62,66,76,103–106 .…”
Section: Resultsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Menstruation, 66 school uniforms and religious dress codes also kept women and girls from being active 60,103,104 . Furthermore, women and girls were less likely to engage in physical activity due to prohibition in some countries on them being unaccompanied in public 58,62,66,76,103–106 . In addition, women and girls were faced with sexual harassment and objectification for wearing exercise clothes 61,98,106 …”
Section: Resultsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Affordability of physical activity was influenced by the cost of classes and membership fees for recreation facilities 98,104 . Healthy diets were seen as unaffordable; as fruit, vegetables, meat and wholegrain cereal were perceived as more expensive than staples, 61,63,77,82,95 snacks or fast foods 73,76,83,90,111 .…”
Section: Resultsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Adolescents in all studies seem to struggle with lack of time due to academic pressure from the school or parents, which affected time available for engaging in physical activity 58,60,62,68,77,101,102,104,109–111,120,121 . They also reported a lack of time to prepare or pack food for school, 117 forcing them to skip meals 79,90,91,96,120 or displace meals with snacks 76 .…”
Summary
This systematic review synthesized the qualitative evidence on factors influencing obesogenic behaviours in adolescent girls and women of reproductive age in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs). This qualitative evidence synthesis followed the framework synthesis approach to extract, analyse and synthesize data. Electronic searches were conducted in the Web of Science, SCOPUS, CABI Abstracts, MEDLINE, PsycINFO and Google Scholar. Studies were eligible if they were conducted in LMICs, of qualitative nature, and reported obesogenic behaviours of female adolescents (10–19 years of age) or women of reproductive age (15–49 years of age). The review resulted in 71 included studies from 27 different countries. Thirty‐two studies focused on dietary behaviours, 17 on physical activity and 22 on both behaviours. Gender norms and failures to recognize the importance of healthy behaviours across the life cycle were important factors. The abundance and promotion of affordable but unhealthy food, food safety concerns, taste preferences and social desirability of foods drive consumption of unhealthy foods. Busy lives and limited exercise spaces keep girls and women from being physically active. Obesogenic behaviours of adolescent girls and women of reproductive age are influenced by factors at individual, social, physical and environmental levels and require diverse solutions to address these factors in LMICs.
“…The full‐text review resulted in a total of 72 included references 56‐127 reporting on a total of 71 studies from 27 different countries, with 23 studies conducted in Africa, 34 in Asia, and 14 in South America. Figure 1 shows details of references screened, included and excluded, and Table 1 shows the general characteristics of the included studies.…”
Section: Resultsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Soccer is for men, ballet is for women, this is like saying strength and delicacy … ( 98 Costa Rica, adolescents)Girls were also not expected to show muscles, 64 look sweaty, messy or tanned, 64,66,98,102 because these were signs of poverty or masculinity. Menstruation, 66 school uniforms and religious dress codes also kept women and girls from being active 60,103,104 . Furthermore, women and girls were less likely to engage in physical activity due to prohibition in some countries on them being unaccompanied in public 58,62,66,76,103–106 .…”
Section: Resultsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Menstruation, 66 school uniforms and religious dress codes also kept women and girls from being active 60,103,104 . Furthermore, women and girls were less likely to engage in physical activity due to prohibition in some countries on them being unaccompanied in public 58,62,66,76,103–106 . In addition, women and girls were faced with sexual harassment and objectification for wearing exercise clothes 61,98,106 …”
Section: Resultsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Affordability of physical activity was influenced by the cost of classes and membership fees for recreation facilities 98,104 . Healthy diets were seen as unaffordable; as fruit, vegetables, meat and wholegrain cereal were perceived as more expensive than staples, 61,63,77,82,95 snacks or fast foods 73,76,83,90,111 .…”
Section: Resultsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Adolescents in all studies seem to struggle with lack of time due to academic pressure from the school or parents, which affected time available for engaging in physical activity 58,60,62,68,77,101,102,104,109–111,120,121 . They also reported a lack of time to prepare or pack food for school, 117 forcing them to skip meals 79,90,91,96,120 or displace meals with snacks 76 .…”
Summary
This systematic review synthesized the qualitative evidence on factors influencing obesogenic behaviours in adolescent girls and women of reproductive age in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs). This qualitative evidence synthesis followed the framework synthesis approach to extract, analyse and synthesize data. Electronic searches were conducted in the Web of Science, SCOPUS, CABI Abstracts, MEDLINE, PsycINFO and Google Scholar. Studies were eligible if they were conducted in LMICs, of qualitative nature, and reported obesogenic behaviours of female adolescents (10–19 years of age) or women of reproductive age (15–49 years of age). The review resulted in 71 included studies from 27 different countries. Thirty‐two studies focused on dietary behaviours, 17 on physical activity and 22 on both behaviours. Gender norms and failures to recognize the importance of healthy behaviours across the life cycle were important factors. The abundance and promotion of affordable but unhealthy food, food safety concerns, taste preferences and social desirability of foods drive consumption of unhealthy foods. Busy lives and limited exercise spaces keep girls and women from being physically active. Obesogenic behaviours of adolescent girls and women of reproductive age are influenced by factors at individual, social, physical and environmental levels and require diverse solutions to address these factors in LMICs.
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