Globally unhealthy lifestyle behaviors among adolescents have become a public health concern, contributing to the obesity epidemic in many parts of the world. In The Gambia, underweight has previously been considered as a significant health problem. However, in recent decades, the prevalence of overweight and obesity has been a growing concern. Thus, we aimed to investigate the prevalence and risk factors for both thinness and overweight/obesity among school going adolescence in The Gambia. Using a cross-sectional study design, 805 students (268 males, 537 females) aged 13 to 19 from schools in Western Region, The Gambia ware selected using a multi-stage sampling design. BMI-for-age z-scores were used to determine nutritional status. Multinomial logistic regressions models were used to assess the association between multiple factors and BMI-for-age status of adolescents. Our findings show that thinness and overweight/obesity were 13.69% and 7.77% respectively. Factors such as sex (female: adjusted odds ratio [aOR]=3.15, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.43 – 6.93), mother’s education (secondary: aOR=2.86, 95% CI=1.16 – 7.07), physical activity level (sufficiently active: aOR=0.48, 95% CI=0.24 – 0.95) and nighttime sleep duration (<6 hours: aOR=2.53, 95% CI=1.07 – 5.99) were significantly associated with overweight/obesity. In addition, sex (female: aOR=0.34, 95% CI=0.19–0.59) and nighttime sleep duration (<6 hours: aOR=2.92, 95% CI=1.24–6.86) were associated with thinness. The results suggest that the double burden of malnutrition exist in The Gambia and remains a major public health issue among adolescents. This, therefore, underlined the need for nutritional interventions targeting adolescents. Further research involving the entire country may be required to show the national burden.
| Published in | Central African Journal of Public Health (Volume 6, Issue 3) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.cajph.20200603.18 |
| Page(s) | 164-172 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Science Publishing Group |
BMI-for-age, Thinness, Overweight/Obesity, Adolescents, The Gambia
| [1] | Azzopardi P, Kennedy, E. and Patton, G (2017). Data and indicators to measure adolescent health, social development and well-being. In: Innocenti Research Brief. UNICEF. p 19. |
| [2] | UNICEF (2012). Progress for Children: A report card on adolescents. UNICEF: New York, USA. p 56. |
| [3] | UNICEF (2016). UNICEF Data: Monitoring the situation of children and women. |
| [4] | Dewey KG, Begum K (2011). Long-term consequences of stunting in early life. Maternal & child nutrition, 7 Suppl 3: 5-18. |
| [5] | Reilly JJ, Kelly J (2011). Long-term impact of overweight and obesity in childhood and adolescence on morbidity and premature mortality in adulthood: systematic review. International journal of obesity (2005), 35 (7): 891-898. |
| [6] | Black RE, Victora CG, Walker SP, Bhutta ZA, Christian P, de Onis M, et al (2013). Maternal and child undernutrition and overweight in low-income and middle-income countries. Lancet, 382 (9890): 427-451. |
| [7] | Abdullah A (2015). The Double Burden of Undernutrition and Overnutrition in Developing Countries: an Update. Current obesity report, 4 (3): 337-349. |
| [8] | Caleyachetty R, Thomas GN, Kengne AP, Echouffo-Tcheugui JB, Schilsky S, Khodabocus J, et al (2018). The double burden of malnutrition among adolescents: analysis of data from the Global School-Based Student Health and Health Behavior in School-Aged Children surveys in 57 low- and middle-income countries. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 108 (2): 414-424. |
| [9] | Mokdad AH, Forouzanfar MH, Daoud F, Mokdad AA, El Bcheraoui C, Moradi-Lakeh M, et al (2016). Global burden of diseases, injuries, and risk factors for young people's health during 1990-2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013. Lancet, 387 (10036): 2383-2401. |
| [10] | Manyanga T, El-Sayed H, Doku DT, Randall JR (2014). The prevalence of underweight, overweight, obesity and associated risk factors among school-going adolescents in seven African countries. BMC Public Health, 14 (1): 887. |
| [11] | Vernini JM, Moreli JB, Magalhaes CG, Costa RAA, Rudge MVC, Calderon IMP (2016). Maternal and fetal outcomes in pregnancies complicated by overweight and obesity. Reproductive health, 13 (1): 100. |
| [12] | Grantham-McGregor S, Cheung YB, Cueto S, Glewwe P, Richter L, Strupp B (2007). Developmental potential in the first 5 years for children in developing countries. Lancet, 369 (9555): 60-70. |
| [13] | McGovern ME, Krishna A, Aguayo VM, Subramanian SV (2017). A review of the evidence linking child stunting to economic outcomes. International Journal of Epidemiology, 46 (4): 1171-1191. |
| [14] | Katanoda K, Noda M, Goto A, Mizunuma H, Lee JS, Hayashi K (2018). Adolescent underweight is independently associated with adult-onset diabetes among women - the Japan Nurses' Health Study. Journal of Diabetes Investigation. 10 (3): 827-836. |
| [15] | Twig G, Yaniv G, Levine H, Leiba A, Goldberger N, Derazne E, et al (2016). Body-Mass Index in 2.3 Million Adolescents and Cardiovascular Death in Adulthood. New England Journal of Medicine, 374 (25): 2430-2440. |
| [16] | GBoS (2014). The Gambia 2013 Population and Housing Census: The Youth Report. Gambia Bureau of Statistics (GBoS): Banjul, The Gambia. p 49. |
| [17] | Siervo M, Grey P, Nyan OA, Prentice AM (2006). Urbanization and obesity in The Gambia: a country in the early stages of the demographic transition. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 60 (4): 455-463. |
| [18] | Prentice AM (2006). The emerging epidemic of obesity in developing countries. International Journal of Epidemiology, 35 (1): 93-99. |
| [19] | Awad M, Setareh-Shenas S, Robert Pixton J, Soliman C, Czer LSC, Ruzza A, et al (2014). Prevalence of hypertension in the Gambia and Sierra Leone, western Africa: a cross-sectional study. Cardiovascular Journal of Africa, 25 (6): 269-278. |
| [20] | Cham B, Scholes S, Ng Fat L, Badjie O, Mindell JS (2018). Burden of hypertension in The Gambia: evidence from a national World Health Organization (WHO) STEP survey. International Journal of Epidemiology, 1; 47 (3): 860-871. |
| [21] | GoOS, ICF International (2014). The Gambia Demographic and Health Survey 2013. GBOS and ICF International: Banjul, The Gambia. p 443. |
| [22] | Lundborg P, Nilsson A, Rooth D-O (2014). Adolescent health and adult labor market outcomes. Journal of Health Economics, 37: 25-40. |
| [23] | NaNA (2013). The Gambia National Nutrition policy 2010 - 2020. p 46. |
| [24] | Teferi DY, Atomssa GE, Mekonnen TC (2018). Overweight and Undernutrition in the Cases of School-Going Adolescents in Wolaita Sodo Town, Southern Ethiopia: Cross-Sectional Study. Journal of nutrition and metabolism, 2018: 8678561. |
| [25] | Eriksson M, Lingfors H, Golsater M (2018). Trends in prevalence of thinness, overweight and obesity among Swedish children and adolescents between 2004 and 2015. Acta Paediatrica; 107 (10): 1818-1825. |
| [26] | Al-Thani M, Al-Thani A, Alyafei S, Al-Chetachi W, Khalifa SE, Ahmed A, et al (2018). The prevalence and characteristics of overweight and obesity among students in Qatar. Public health, 160: 143-149. |
| [27] | Wang VH, Min J, Xue H, Du S, Xu F, Wang H, et al (2018). What factors may contribute to sex differences in childhood obesity prevalence in China? Public Health Nutrituion, 21 (11): 2056-2064. |
| [28] | Siddarth D (2013). Risk factors for obesity in children and adults. Journal of investigative medicine, 61 (6): 1039-1042. |
| [29] | Taheri S, Lin L, Austin D, Young T, Mignot E (2004). Short sleep duration is associated with reduced leptin, elevated ghrelin, and increased body mass index. PLoS Medicine, 1 (3): e62. |
| [30] | Ene-Obong H, Ibeanu V, Onuoha N, Ejekwu A (2012). Prevalence of overweight, obesity, and thinness among urban school-aged children and adolescents in southern Nigeria. Food and nutrition bulletin, 33 (4): 242-250. |
| [31] | Karanikolos M, Mladovsky P, Cylus J, Thomson S, Basu S, Stuckler D, et al (2013). Financial crisis, austerity, and health in Europe. The Lancet, 381 (9874): 1323-1331. |
| [32] | GBoS (2014). The Gambia 2013 Population and Housing Census Provisional Report. Gambia Bureau of Statistics: Banjul, The Gambia. p 23. |
| [33] | de Farias JC, Jr., Lopes Ada S, Mota J, Santos MP, Ribeiro JC, Hallal PC (2012). [Validity and reproducibility of a physical activity questionnaire for adolescents: adapting the Self-Administered Physical Activity Checklist]. Revista brasileira de epidemiologia=Brazilian journal of epidemiology, 15 (1): 198-210. |
| [34] | Voss C, Ogunleye AA, Sandercock GR (2013). Physical Activity Questionnaire for children and adolescents: English norms and cut-off points. Pediatrics international, 55 (4): 498-507. |
| [35] | Benitez-Porres J, Alvero-Cruz JR, Sardinha LB, Lopez-Fernandez I, Carnero EA (2016). Cut-off values for classifying active children and adolescentes using the Physical Activity Questionnaire: PAQ-C and PAQ-ACut-off values for classifying active children and adolescents using the Physical Activity Questionnaire: PAQ-C and PAQ-A. Nutrición hospitalaria; 33 (5): 564. |
| [36] | Kuczmarski RJ OC, Guo SS, Grummer-strawn LM, Flegal KM, Mei Z, Wei R, Curtin LR, Roche AF and Johnson CL (2002). 2000 CDC Growth Charts for the United States: Methods and Development. National Center for Health Statistics. |
| [37] | CDC (2016). A SAS Program for the 2000 CDC Growth Charts (ages 0 to <20 years). CDC: Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity > Nutrition. |
| [38] | Diouf A, Thiam M, Idohou-Dossou N, Diongue O, Megne N, Diallo K, et al (2016). Physical Activity Level and Sedentary Behaviors among Public School Children in Dakar (Senegal) Measured by PAQ-C and Accelerometer: Preliminary Results. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 13 (10). |
| [39] | Omobuwa O, Alebiosu CO, Olajide FO, Adebimpe WO (2014). Assessment of nutritional status of in-school adolescents in Ibadan, Nigeria. South African Family Practice, 56 (4): 246-250. |
| [40] | Aryeetey R, Lartey A, Marquis GS, Nti H, Colecraft E, Brown PJBO (2017). Prevalence and predictors of overweight and obesity among school-aged children in urban Ghana. BMC Obesity, 4 (1): 38. |
| [41] | Wamba PCF, Enyong Oben J, Cianflone K (2013). Prevalence of Overweight, Obesity, and Thinness in Cameroon Urban Children and Adolescents. Journal of Obesity, 2013: 737592. |
| [42] | Melaku YA, Zello GA, Gill TK, Adams RJ, Shi ZJAoPH (2015). Prevalence and factors associated with stunting and thinness among adolescent students in Northern Ethiopia: a comparison to World Health Organization standards. Archieves Public Health. 73 (1): 44. |
| [43] | Casazza K, Goran MI, Gower BA (2008). Associations among insulin, estrogen, and fat mass gain over the pubertal transition in African-American and European-American girls. The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism, 93 (7): 2610-2615. |
| [44] | Sigmund E, Badura P, Sigmundová D, Voráčová J, Zacpal J, Kalman M, et al (2018). Trends and correlates of overweight/obesity in Czech adolescents in relation to family socioeconomic status over a 12-year study period (2002–2014). BMC Public Health, 18: 122. |
| [45] | Yu Z, Han S, Chu J, Xu Z, Zhu C, Guo X (2012). Trends in Overweight and Obesity among Children and Adolescents in China from 1981 to 2010: A Meta-Analysis. PLoS ONE; 7 (12): e51949. |
| [46] | Laxmaiah A, Nagalla B, Vijayaraghavan K, Nair M (2007). Factors affecting prevalence of overweight among 12- to 17-year-old urban adolescents in Hyderabad, India. Obesity (Silver Spring, Md), 15 (6): 1384-1390. |
| [47] | Yi X, Yin C, Chang M, Xiao Y (2012). Prevalence and risk factors of obesity among school-aged children in Xi'an, China. European journal of pediatrics, 171 (2): 389-394. |
| [48] | Heidi Ullmann S, Buttenheim AM, Goldman N, Pebley AR, Wong R (2011). Socioeconomic differences in obesity among Mexican adolescents. International journal of pediatric obesity, 6 (2-2): e373-380. |
| [49] | Keane E, Layte R, Harrington J, Kearney PM, Perry IJ (2012). Measured parental weight status and familial socio-economic status correlates with childhood overweight and obesity at age 9. PLoS One, 7 (8): e43503. |
| [50] | Drenowatz C, Hand GA, Shook RP, Jakicic JM, Hebert JR, Burgess S, et al (2015). The association between different types of exercise and energy expenditure in young nonoverweight and overweight adults. Applied physiology, nutrition, and metabolism, 40 (3): 211-217. |
| [51] | Planinsec J, Matejek C (2004). Differences in physical activity between non-overweight, overweight and obese children. Collegium antropologicum, 28 (2): 747-754. |
| [52] | Hills AP, King NA, Armstrong TP (2007). The contribution of physical activity and sedentary behaviours to the growth and development of children and adolescents: implications for overweight and obesity. Sports medicine (Auckland, NZ), 37 (6): 533-545. |
| [53] | Kim Y, Barreira TV, Kang M (2016). Concurrent Associations of Physical Activity and Screen-Based Sedentary Behavior on Obesity Among US Adolescents: A Latent Class Analysis. Journal of Epidemiology, 26 (3): 137-144. |
| [54] | Trost SG, Kerr LM, Ward DS, Pate RR. Physical activity and determinants of physical activity in obese and non-obese children. International journal of obesity and related metabolic, 25 (6): 822-829. |
| [55] | Meyer KA, Wall MM, Larson NI, Laska MN, Neumark-Sztainer D (2012). Sleep duration and BMI in a sample of young adults. Obesity (Silver Spring, Md), 20 (6): 1279-1287. |
| [56] | Kohatsu ND, Tsai R, Young T, Vangilder R, Burmeister LF, Stromquist AM, et al (2006). Sleep duration and body mass index in a rural population. Archives of Internal Medicine, 166 (16): 1701-1705. |
| [57] | Kristicevic T, Stefan L, Sporis G (2018). The Associations between Sleep Duration and Sleep Quality with Body-Mass Index in a Large Sample of Young Adults. International journal of environmental research and public health, 15 (4). |
| [58] | Ames ME, Holfeld B, Leadbeater BJ (2016). Sex and age group differences in the associations between sleep duration and BMI from adolescence to young adulthood. Psychology & health, 31 (8): 976-992. |
| [59] | Wu J, Wu H, Wang J, Guo L, Deng X, Lu C (2015). Associations between Sleep Duration and Overweight/Obesity: Results from 66,817 Chinese Adolescents. Science Report, 5: 16686. |
| [60] | Cizza G, Skarulis M, Mignot E (2005). A link between short sleep and obesity: building the evidence for causation. Sleep, 28 (10): 1217-1220. |
| [61] | Chaput J-P, St-Onge M-P (2014). Increased Food Intake by Insufficient Sleep in Humans: Are We Jumping the Gun on the Hormonal Explanation? Frontiers in endocrinology, 5 (116). |
| [62] | St-Onge MP, Wolfe S, Sy M, Shechter A, Hirsch J (2013). Sleep restriction increases the neuronal response to unhealthy food in normal-weight individuals. International Journal Of Obesity, 38: 411. |
| [63] | Lauer CJ, Krieg J-C (2004). Sleep in eating disorders. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 8 (2): 109-118. |
| [64] | Sivertsen B, Pallesen S, Sand L, Hysing M (2014). Sleep and body mass index in adolescence: results from a large population-based study of Norwegian adolescents aged 16 to 19 years. BMC pediatrics, 14: 204-204. |
APA Style
Haddy Jallow-Badjan, Haddy Tunkara-Bah, Paul Bass, Thomas Senghore. (2020). Prevalence and Factors Associated with Thinness and Overweight/Obesity Among Secondary School Adolescents. A Cross-sectional Study. Central African Journal of Public Health, 6(3), 164-172. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cajph.20200603.18
ACS Style
Haddy Jallow-Badjan; Haddy Tunkara-Bah; Paul Bass; Thomas Senghore. Prevalence and Factors Associated with Thinness and Overweight/Obesity Among Secondary School Adolescents. A Cross-sectional Study. Cent. Afr. J. Public Health 2020, 6(3), 164-172. doi: 10.11648/j.cajph.20200603.18
AMA Style
Haddy Jallow-Badjan, Haddy Tunkara-Bah, Paul Bass, Thomas Senghore. Prevalence and Factors Associated with Thinness and Overweight/Obesity Among Secondary School Adolescents. A Cross-sectional Study. Cent Afr J Public Health. 2020;6(3):164-172. doi: 10.11648/j.cajph.20200603.18
Share This Article
Twitter
Linked In
Facebook
Copy
Download@article{10.11648/j.cajph.20200603.18,
author = {Haddy Jallow-Badjan and Haddy Tunkara-Bah and Paul Bass and Thomas Senghore},
title = {Prevalence and Factors Associated with Thinness and Overweight/Obesity Among Secondary School Adolescents. A Cross-sectional Study},
journal = {Central African Journal of Public Health},
volume = {6},
number = {3},
pages = {164-172},
doi = {10.11648/j.cajph.20200603.18},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cajph.20200603.18},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.cajph.20200603.18},
abstract = {Globally unhealthy lifestyle behaviors among adolescents have become a public health concern, contributing to the obesity epidemic in many parts of the world. In The Gambia, underweight has previously been considered as a significant health problem. However, in recent decades, the prevalence of overweight and obesity has been a growing concern. Thus, we aimed to investigate the prevalence and risk factors for both thinness and overweight/obesity among school going adolescence in The Gambia. Using a cross-sectional study design, 805 students (268 males, 537 females) aged 13 to 19 from schools in Western Region, The Gambia ware selected using a multi-stage sampling design. BMI-for-age z-scores were used to determine nutritional status. Multinomial logistic regressions models were used to assess the association between multiple factors and BMI-for-age status of adolescents. Our findings show that thinness and overweight/obesity were 13.69% and 7.77% respectively. Factors such as sex (female: adjusted odds ratio [aOR]=3.15, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.43 – 6.93), mother’s education (secondary: aOR=2.86, 95% CI=1.16 – 7.07), physical activity level (sufficiently active: aOR=0.48, 95% CI=0.24 – 0.95) and nighttime sleep duration (<6 hours: aOR=2.53, 95% CI=1.07 – 5.99) were significantly associated with overweight/obesity. In addition, sex (female: aOR=0.34, 95% CI=0.19–0.59) and nighttime sleep duration (<6 hours: aOR=2.92, 95% CI=1.24–6.86) were associated with thinness. The results suggest that the double burden of malnutrition exist in The Gambia and remains a major public health issue among adolescents. This, therefore, underlined the need for nutritional interventions targeting adolescents. Further research involving the entire country may be required to show the national burden.},
year = {2020}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Prevalence and Factors Associated with Thinness and Overweight/Obesity Among Secondary School Adolescents. A Cross-sectional Study AU - Haddy Jallow-Badjan AU - Haddy Tunkara-Bah AU - Paul Bass AU - Thomas Senghore Y1 - 2020/05/15 PY - 2020 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cajph.20200603.18 DO - 10.11648/j.cajph.20200603.18 T2 - Central African Journal of Public Health JF - Central African Journal of Public Health JO - Central African Journal of Public Health SP - 164 EP - 172 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2575-5781 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cajph.20200603.18 AB - Globally unhealthy lifestyle behaviors among adolescents have become a public health concern, contributing to the obesity epidemic in many parts of the world. In The Gambia, underweight has previously been considered as a significant health problem. However, in recent decades, the prevalence of overweight and obesity has been a growing concern. Thus, we aimed to investigate the prevalence and risk factors for both thinness and overweight/obesity among school going adolescence in The Gambia. Using a cross-sectional study design, 805 students (268 males, 537 females) aged 13 to 19 from schools in Western Region, The Gambia ware selected using a multi-stage sampling design. BMI-for-age z-scores were used to determine nutritional status. Multinomial logistic regressions models were used to assess the association between multiple factors and BMI-for-age status of adolescents. Our findings show that thinness and overweight/obesity were 13.69% and 7.77% respectively. Factors such as sex (female: adjusted odds ratio [aOR]=3.15, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.43 – 6.93), mother’s education (secondary: aOR=2.86, 95% CI=1.16 – 7.07), physical activity level (sufficiently active: aOR=0.48, 95% CI=0.24 – 0.95) and nighttime sleep duration (<6 hours: aOR=2.53, 95% CI=1.07 – 5.99) were significantly associated with overweight/obesity. In addition, sex (female: aOR=0.34, 95% CI=0.19–0.59) and nighttime sleep duration (<6 hours: aOR=2.92, 95% CI=1.24–6.86) were associated with thinness. The results suggest that the double burden of malnutrition exist in The Gambia and remains a major public health issue among adolescents. This, therefore, underlined the need for nutritional interventions targeting adolescents. Further research involving the entire country may be required to show the national burden. VL - 6 IS - 3 ER -
Information
Email: