Assessment of Factors Associated With Obesity in Children Under Five Years in Ghana

Abstract

Background: Childhood obesity or overweight has become a global public health problem with its associated morbidity manifesting in early childhood and progressing to adulthood if the alarming trend is not curbed. The fact is that obesity in childhood is associated with a wide range of serious health complications and an increased risk for premature onset of illnesses, including diabetes, hypertension, and other heart diseases. Objective: This study examined the factors associated with obesity in children under five (5) in Ghana. This was achieved by determining the prevalence of childhood obesity and assessed socio-demographic, behavioural, environmental and parental predispositions associated with obesity among children under age five in Ghana. Method: The study used the nationally representative Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS) 2014 data. An analytical cross-sectional study design was used employing quantitative methods to analyze a secondary dataset comprising 3118 children less than five years captured in the GDHS and corresponding information about their parents in sub-sample household of the male survey. Logistic regression models were applied using STATA version 15.0 to test the strength of association between sociodemographic characteristics, environmental, behavioural and maternal predispositions and the development of childhood obesity. The level of significance was accepted at p<0.05. Results: Prevalence of obesity was 3% among children under five years and the highest regional prevalence (5.3%) was recorded from the Central and Greater Accra Regions. Females were 57% less likely to be obese compared with males [AOR=0.43 (95% CI: 0.26-0.71); p<0.001]. Children who belong to obese mothers were 2.33 times more likely to be obese [AOR=2.33 (95% CI: 1.23-4.41); p=0.009]. Furthermore, children who were born to mothers aged 20-24 years were 68% less likely to be obese, compared with children born to mothers aged 15-19 years. Conclusion: The study highlights the impact of mother’s weight status and sociodemographic characteristic on the development of childhood obesity. Interventions and policies to reduce childhood obesity should therefore, be targeted at early identification of familial risk factors