Overweight among in-School Adolescents in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: A Mixed Method Study
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2024-12-13
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Background: Overweight including obesity is a key public health problem in many high income countries and it is steadily rising in low income and middle income countries. Specially overweight starts to develop in adolescence age and increase across age. But the magnitude and its underlying determinants have not been sufficiently studied among adolescents in urban settings of Ethiopia.
Objective: To assess the magnitude of overweight including obesity and explores its drivers among in-school adolescents from age 13-19 years in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2024.
Methods: Institutional-based sequential explanatory mixed-method study was conducted among 405 adolescent boys and girls (13-19 years old) from both public and private high schools across three sub-cities in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Data collection was conducted through self administered questionnaires and The WHO Anthro Plus software was employed to analyze anthropometric measurements and determine instances of overweight and obesity. The data were entered into Epi Info version 7 and then exported to SPSS version 27 for further processing. Frequency distributions and percentages were displayed in tables and figures. Both bivariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to explore the relationships between the dependent and independent variables. Statistical significance was determined using adjusted odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals and a p-value of less than 0.05. A qualitative content analysis approach using mixed sampling was employed to choose 19 participants for the qualitative study. Data were collected through indepth interview of overweight/obese students and their parents and key informant interview with school principals and sub cities school food program experts. Content analysis was conducted using Atlas Ti software.
Result: Total of 399 respondents participated in the study with a response rate of 98.5%. The overall prevalence of overw eight including obesity was 23.6% (95% CI; 19.3, 28.1). Learning in private schools [AOR=4.32(95%CI; 1.94, 9.62)], consuming sugar and sweets daily [AOR=0.56(95%CI; 0.33, 0.97)] and not doing physical exercise [AOR= 2.09(95% CI; 1.17, 3.73)] were significantly associated with being overweight including obesity. The strong reasons underlying for the overweight including obesity prevalence among these adolescents were unhealthy meal preferences and choices that are influenced by peer pressure, limited physical activity from the lack of physical education periods and inadequate playgrounds, reliance on motorized transportation meanses and excessive time spent on social media. The unhealthy school food environment both inside and outside the schools also contributed to their risk of being overweight including obesity, by encouraging the consumption of fast foods, sugary drinks, and sweets.
Conclusion: The results showed that overweight including obesity prevalence rates were higher among in school adolescent students in Addis Ababa which may increase the risk of noncommunicable diseases at a later age. Therefore, an urgent public health plan of action is needed among adolescents to mitigate future complications of overweight and obesity in Addis Ababa.
Description
Keywords
Adolescent Nutrition, Body mass index, Overweight, Obesity