PREVALENCE AND DETERMINANTS OF OVERWEIGHT AND OBESITY AMONG IN-SCHOOL ADOLESCENTS IN IKENNE LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, OGUN STATE

Abstract

Childhood and adolescence are critical periods of life which lay the foundation for behaviors that are later adopted in life. Childhood overweight and obesity are on the rise in developing countries including Nigeria and its determinants are not yet well understood. This study was therefore carried out to determine the prevalence and determinants of overweight and obesity among in-school adolescents in Ikenne Local Government Area, Ogun State. A cross-sectional school-based study was conducted among 622 secondary school adolescents between the ages of 10 and 19 years. Respondents were selected through a multistage sampling technique. An interviewer-administered, semi-structured questionnaire was distributed, while anthropometric measurements including body weight, height, waist and hip measurements were taken. Overweight and Obesity were defined according to BMI-for-age as classified by 2007 WHO Growth Reference Charts for 5-19 years; and WHO sex-specific cut-offs for Waist-Hip Ratio. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, Pearson correlation and binary logistic regression. The mean age of respondents was 15 years and a standard deviation of 2 years. More than half (58.7%) were females, 63.3% were enrolled in public schools while 26.7% were enrolled in private schools. Overall, the prevalence of overweight and obesity by BMI was 1 2.7%, and by WHR was 35.1%. Overweight and obesity was highest among early adolescents (10- 14 years) which peaked at 12 and 13 years respectively using the BMI approach. However, the WHR technique revealed a higher prevalence of overweight and obesity among the late adolescents (15-19 years) and peaked at 16 years. Females tended to be more overweight (6.8% versus 3.2%) while obesity was higher in males than females (1.7% versus 0.9%) by BMI while WHR revealed the prevalence of both overweight and obesity to be higher in females than in males. Adolescents between 10 - 14 years were about 58% times less likely to be overweight/obese (OR: 0.42; 95% CI: 0.258 - 0.672) while those who attended public schools were about three times more likely to be overweight/obese (OR: 3.32; 95% CI: 2.04 - 5.41). Adolescents who skipped breakfast and those who had high physical activity level were 41% and 54% times less likely to be overweight/obese (OR: 0.59; 95% Cl: 0.36 - 0.99 and OR: 0.46; 95% CI: 0.24 - 0.87 respectively) while those who desired to lose weight were about 3.4 times more likely to be overweight/obese (OR: 3.39; 95% CI: 1.97 - 5.81). There was a weak positive correlation between BMI and WHR (r = 0.023) and it was not statistically significant. The prevalence of overweight and obesity among adolescents was high and was associated with age, dietary and physical activity factors. Hence, coordinated school health programs and interventions with emphasis on healthy nutrition and physical activity should be put in place in order to prevent childhood overweight and obesity.