Prevalence of Childhood and Adolescent Obesity and Its Associated Factors at the Legon Staff Village
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Date
2018-07
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University of Ghana
Abstract
Childhood and adolescent overweight and obesity is a major global concern in the public health sector. Overweight, as well as obesity occurs when the rate of metabolism of calories in the body is less than the rate of caloric intake. This condition is likely to continue into adulthood if not addressed. The prevalence and conditions that determine childhood and adolescent obesity have not been widely studied in children and adolescents between the age of 5 and 17 years in Ghana. Knowing of the prevalence and determinants of childhood and adolescent obesity can contribute greatly to the design of nutrition interventions which will prevent, promote and maintain good health both in children and adolescents.
The study objective was to determine the prevalence of childhood and adolescent obesity and the various associated risk factors among children and adolescents between the ages of 5-17 years at the Legon Staff Village, Accra, Ghana.
The study was cross-sectional and involved a sample of 93 children, as well as adolescents between the ages of 5 and 17 years living in the Legon Staff Village. Data collection was achieved through caregivers, children and adolescent interviews. Data was collected on sociodemographic and behavioural factors which included diet, physical activity and screen time. Anthropometric data was obtained by measuring weight and height of study participants and BMI was calculated using age and gender specific z score values recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). Data on socioeconomic status and demographics were collected through interviews using questionnaires. Associations between socio demographic and behavioural factors and childhood and adolescent obesity was determined using chi square statistics and logistic regressions, at 95% confidence interval. Of the 93 children and adolescents surveyed, 50.54% were females while 76.34% were adolescents. The mean age of the study participants was 11.85±3.43 years, while the education level ranged from Basic to Senior High School, with 54.84% in basic school, 40.86% in the Junior High School and 4.30% in the Senior High School. All participants had at least two meals per day with 87.01% observing at least three meals a day and the remaining 12.90% observing two meals regularly. Skipping at least one meal in a week was prevalent in 35.48% of participants in the study, while 64.52% did not skip any of their meals weekly. Snacking was a common practice in the participants, with 77.42% reporting the consumption of at least one snack per day. The prevalence of obesity using the WHO gender specific BMI z score was 7.53% while13.98% of participants were overweight. Among the demographic factors, sex was statistically significantly associated with obesity (p=0.046) using chi square statistic. For behavioural factors, screen time (p=0.037; OR=11.6; CI (1.16-116.42) for time spent in TV viewing and (p=0.001; OR=65; CI (5.12-825.79)) for time spent playing video games, meal skipping (p=0.017; OR=8.4 CI (1.45- 48.54)), frequency of consuming foods away from home (p=0.040; OR=0.19; CI (0.034-0.942)) and frequency of snacking (p=0.031; OR=0.08; CI (0.009-0.798)) were statistically significant with obesity using logistic regression. Multiple logistic regression showed that frequency of eating meals from home (p=0.019, AOR=0.455, 95%CI(0.077,0.834) and playing of video games was significantly associated (p= 0.041, AOR=0.219, 95% CI (0.009,0.429)) with obesity status although the model was not statistically significant (p=0.174, R2=0.419 and Adjusted R2=0.111).
Childhood and adolescent obesity is prevalent in the Legon staff village with sex, screen time, meal skipping, food away from home and snacking habits contributing significantly to this condition.
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MPH.
Keywords
Childhood, Adolescent, Obesity, Legon Staff Village