Prevalence and associated factors of overweight/ obesity among children and adolescents in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

BackgroundOverweight and obesity can be defined as excessive and abnormal fat depositions in our body. They have become one of the emerging and serious public health concerns of the twenty-first century in low income countries like Ethiopia. Hence, the aim of this study was to determine the pooled prevalence and review associated risk factors of overweight/obesity among children and adolescents in Ethiopia.MethodThe articles were identified through explicit and reproducible electronic search of reputable databases (PubMed, Google scholar, Science Direct, EMBASE, Cochrane library), and the hand search of reference lists of previous prevalence studies to retrieve more related articles. The 18 studies were selected based on a comprehensive list of inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data were extracted using a standardized and pre-tested data extraction checklist, and the analysis was done using STATA 14 statistical software. To assess heterogeneity, the Cochrane Q test statistic and I2 tests were used. Since the included studies exhibited considerable heterogeneity, a random effect model was used to estimate the pooled prevalence of overweight/obesity. Moreover, the risk factors of overweight/obesity were reviewed.ResultsThe combined pooled prevalence of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents in Ethiopia was 11.30% (95% CI: 8.71, 13.88%). Also, the separate pooled prevalence of overweight and obesity were 8.92 and 2.39%, respectively. Subgroup analysis revealed that the highest overweight/obesity prevalence among children and adolescents was observed in Addis Ababa, 11.94 (95% CI: 9.39, 14.50). Female gender of the children: 3.23 (95% CI 2.03,5.13), high family socioeconomic status: 3.16 (95% CI 1.87,5.34), learning in private school: 3.22 (95% CI 2.36,4.40), physical inactivity: 3.36 (95% CI 1.68,6.72), sweet nutriments preference: 2.78 (95% CI 1.97,3.93) and less use of fruits/vegetables: 1.39 (95% CI 1.10,1.75) have shown a positive association with the development of overweight/obesity among children and adolescents.ConclusionThe pooled prevalence of overweight/obesity among children and adolescents in Ethiopia is substantially high, and has become an emerging nutrition linked problem. Female gender, high family socioeconomic status, learning in private school, physical inactivity, sweet nutriments preference and less use of fruits/vegetables were found to be significantly associated with overweight/obesity.

Social Stratification, Diet Diversity and Malnutrition among Preschoolers: A Survey of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

“…The differences in our observed prevalence as compared to the EDHS could be due to the small sample size used in the EDHS for Addis (n ≤ 220), which may not reflect the child population of the city. However, our study's results are comparable with a pooled prevalence from a meta-analysis done in 2018 which shows that Addis Ababa had the highest obesity rates among the regions with a pooled prevalence of 11.94 (95% CI: 9.39-14.50) [45].…”

The Relationship between the Body Mass Index and Different Education Times in Secondary Schools

“…Dündar and Öz (2012) stated that the frequency of overweight and obesity in boys is higher than girls. Variables such as physical, physiological, metabolic rapid changes due to gender and age, biological differences in energy requirements in both sexes regarding growth and timing during sexual maturity period, and regional and social gender differences may be factors in obesity or overweight rates between genders (Al-Rethaiaa et al, 2010;Goyal et al, 2010;Biswas et al, 2017;Gebrie et al, 2018). In addition, it has been stated in a wide range of previous studies that the rates of obesity vary according to socio-economic level and region as well (The TOÇB, 2011;COSI-TUR, 2013).…”

Flatfoot and associated factors among Ethiopian school children aged 11 to 15 years: A school-based study

“…Flatfoot often leads to tissue strain, pain, acceleration of overuse injuries, poor functions, and disability in lower extremities which has a negative impact on the quality of life of children [10]. In particular, attention should be given to the rising prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity in Ethiopia [11], as these populations tend to have a higher risk of flatfoot.…”