Overweight and Obesity Status among Adolescents from Mexico and Egypt

Objective: To describe patterns of food consumption associated with overweight/ obesity (OW/OB) and their links to socio-economic status (SES) and urbanization. Design: A nationwide cross-sectional survey. Setting: Secondary schools in cities, towns and villages in Botswana, Africa. Subjects: A total of 746 adolescent schoolchildren. Results: OW/OB is associated with greater SES, city residence and a snack-food diet pattern. Students belonging to higher SES compared with those from a lower SES background reported significantly (P , 0?01) more daily servings of snack foods (1?55 v. 0?76) and fewer servings of traditional diet foods (0?99 v. 1?68) and also reported that they ate meals outside the home more often (90 % v. 72 %). Students in cities ate significantly (P , 0?01) more servings of snacks (1?69 v. 1?05 v. 0?51) and fewer servings of traditional foods (0?67 v. 1?52 v. 1?61) compared with those in urban and rural villages. The odds of OW/OB were increased 1?16-fold with a snack-food diet, a result that was diminished when controlled for SES. Conclusions: These data suggest that nutritional transition occurs at different rates across urbanization and SES levels in Botswana. In cities, increasing the availability of fruit while reducing access to or portion sizes of snack items is important. Emphasis on continued intake of traditional foods may also be helpful as rural areas undergo economic and infrastructural development. Keywords Snacks Traditional diet Food patterns Nutrition transitionThe worldwide obesity epidemic is evident in children belonging to economically developed countries, as well as in children belonging to countries undergoing such development. According to the International Obesity Taskforce, approximately 10 % of youth aged 5-17 years worldwide were overweight (OW) and 2-3 % were obese (OB) in the year 2000 (1) . In a nationwide sample of adolescent secondary-school students in Botswana, 16 % of adolescents were OW/OB, with three OW/OB adolescents for every underweight one (2) . In this sample, OW/OB prevalence was higher among adolescents having a higher socio-economic status (SES) and among those from cities than among those from rural villages. These data suggest that initial efforts to prevent further increase in the prevalence of OW/OB must consider environmental and behavioural factors associated with increasing SES and urbanization as economic development continues.The typical food intake patterns of adolescents in Botswana and whether these patterns have any relationship with OW/OB have not been published. In addition, the role that SES or urbanization plays in patterns of food consumption has not been examined in adolescents. It is critical to understand these behaviours as a first step towards designing interventions to prevent the expected further increases in OW/OB. Therefore, the purposes of the present study were:1. to characterize the patterns of food intake of adolescent schoolchildren and the relationship of these patterns with OW/OB; 2. to evaluate the associatio...

“…On the basis of data from economically developing countries (12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24) , we hypothesized that children from a…”

Section: Snacks Traditional Diet Food Patterns Nutrition Transitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…higher socio-economic background and from urbanized areas would be particularly affected (12)(13)(14)(15) .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Socio-economic status and urbanization are linked to snacks and obesity in adolescents in Botswana

Maruapula

Jackson

Holsten

et al. 2011

“…But the residual associations also showed that these differences might be linked to other factors, and this was further emphasised by the large difference in abdominal obesity between regions or areas that had no link with any of the socio-economic or lifestyle factors measured here. Such differences between regions (28,33) and higher prevalence in urban v. rural areas (8,(34)(35)(36) are frequently reported as a consequence of a different level of exposure to genetic influences (37) and particularly to environmental factors (38) , and also to traditions, psychological and cultural factors that influence eating behaviours (38)(39)(40) . The higher prevalence of overweight and obesity in females v. males observed here in rural areas has been reported for other African countries (30) , and may also be partly linked to cultural factors.…”

Section: Nutritional Statusmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nutritional status of Tunisian adolescents: associated gender, environmental and socio-economic factors

Aounallah-Skhiri

Romdhane

Traissac

et al. 2008

Objective: To assess the nutritional status of Tunisian adolescents and associated factors. Design: A cross-sectional study based on a national stratified random cluster sample. Subjects and methods: In all, 1295 boys and 1577 girls aged 15-19 years, of whom 28?4 % had already left school. Socio-economic characteristics of the parents, anthropometric measurements, food behaviours and physical activity of the adolescents were recorded during home visits. Results: Prevalence of underweight, overweight and obesity (WHO/National Center for Health Statistics reference) were, respectively, 8?1 %, 17?4 % and 4?1 % among boys and 1?3 %, 20?7 % and 4?4 % among girls; abdominal obesity was highly prevalent among both sexes. Prevalence of overweight differed by region (from 11?5 % to 22?2 %) and was higher in urban v. rural areas for males (21?7 % v. 10?4 %) but not for females (21?7 % v. 19?2 %). These differences were partially mediated by socio-economic and lifestyle factors for males. For females, influence of cultural factors is hypothesised. In rural areas, overweight was more prevalent among boys of higher economic level households, having a working mother or a sedentary lifestyle; for girls, prevalence increased with the level of education of the mother. In urban areas, prevalence of overweight was related to eating habits: it was higher for boys with irregular snacking habits and for girls skipping daily meals. Urban girls having left school were also more overweight. Conclusion: Overweight and abdominal obesity in late adolescence have become a true public health problem in Tunisia with the combined effects of cultural tradition for girls in rural areas, and of rapid economic development for boys and girls in cities.

“…Overweight and obesity have increased to epidemic proportions globally (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6) and are associated with higher prevalence of chronic non-communicable diseases and excess mortality (7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13) . Among Jamaican adults, the prevalence of overweight and obesity increased from 26?5 % in 1995 (14) to 36?8 % in 2000 (15) .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Fast-food and sweetened beverage consumption: association with overweight and high waist circumference in adolescents

Francis

Broeck

Younger

et al. 2009

Objective: Overweight and obesity have increased to epidemic proportions among adolescents and are associated with chronic non-communicable diseases and excess mortality in adulthood. The association of overweight/obesity with poor dietary habits has not been studied in adolescents in middle-income developing countries. The present study aimed to estimate the prevalence of overweight, obesity and high waist circumference (WC) in 15-19-year-old Jamaican adolescents and to investigate the association with fast-food and sweetened beverage consumption. Design: The study enrolled 1317 (598 male, 719 female) adolescents aged 15-19 years using multistage, nationally representative sampling. Age-specific prevalence calculation used internal Z-score lines connecting with the WHO adult cut-off points. Logistic regression was used to examine the association of overweight or high WC with fast-food and sweetened beverage consumption, adjusting for potential confounders. Results: The overall prevalence of overweight, obesity and high WC was approximately 15 %, 6 % and 10 %, respectively. Prevalence estimated using internal Z-scores was similar to that using the International Obesity Taskforce cut-off points. Obesity (8?0 % in females, 3?3 % in males) and high WC (16?2 % in females, 1?7 % in males) were significantly more prevalent in females when using internal Z-score cut-offs. High WC was associated with the absence of fruit consumption (P 5 0?043) and overweight with high sweetened beverage consumption (P 5 0?018). Conclusion: Overweight occurs frequently among Jamaican 15-19-year-olds and is associated with increased consumption of sweetened beverages. High WC is more prevalent among females and is related to low consumption of fruits and vegetables. Measures to reduce the consumption of sweetened beverages and increase fruit intake may reduce the prevalence of excess body fat among adolescents.