Determinants of Dietary Patterns and Obesity among Secondary School Adolescents in Harare, Zimbabwe, 2016
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.6000/1929-4247.2017.06.04.4Keywords:
Dietary patterns, obesity, determinants, secondary school adolescents, ecological modelAbstract
Background: The dietary patterns are becoming a major public health concern. The current data from various studies in Zimbabwe shows that there was an increase in the prevalence of obesity among secondary school adolescents in Harare. There is a link between eating habits and obesity. This study was conducted to explore the factors influencing dietary practices among adolescents in Zimbabwean schools.
Methods: A school based analytic cross sectional study was conducted with 283 pupils aged 13-19 years. Systematic random sampling was used. Data was collected using self-administered questionnaire based on the ecological framework. The aim of the study was to identify the relationship between dietary patterns and occurrence of obesity. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify the relationship between dietary patterns and obesity.
Findings: The prevalence of obesity was 11.4%. Females were 6.79 (95% CI: 2.17-21.22 p=0.001) more likely to be obese. Consumption of sugar and sweetened beverages were associated with occurrence of obesity; beverages (AOR=3.62, 95%CI=1.99-10.91 p=0.025); eating of snacks in between meals (AOR=2.40, 95%CI=1.03-5.64 p=0.004); so was being located in high density suburb (0R=0.45, 95CI=0.21-0.99 p=0.023); consuming burgers (OR=4.41, CI=1.54-12.64 p=0.006); being a pupil in lower adolescent with age less than 16 (OR=1.99 95%CI=0.99-4.27 p=0.038). Consuming a special diet that is recommended or as a choice was protective from obesity though this was not statistically significant. Not removing visible fat from meat was a risk factor for developing obesity. Eating the traditional maize meal staple food, sadza was protective to being obese (OR=0.3514, 0.16-0.78)
Conclusions: The study showed that obesity is a cause for concern among school children as seen by 11.4% prevalence. Choice of meals is done by parents, eating a home cooked meal such as sadza, participating in meal planning was found to be reinforcing factors. There is need to create awareness on students, parents, teachers and the wider community to increase the adoption of healthy dietary practice among school children.
References
Janssen I, Katzmarzyk PT, Boyce WF, Vereecken C, Mulvihill C, Roberts C, Currie C, Pickett W. Comparison of overweight and obesity prevalence in school-aged youth from 34 countries and their relationships with physical activity and dietary patterns. Obes Rev 2005; 6: 123-132. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-789X.2005.00176.x
Spencer S. Global Burden of Disease 2010 Study: A personal reflection. Glob Cardiol Sci Pract 2013; 2013: 15. https://doi.org/10.5339/gcsp.2013.15
Birch LL, Fisher JO. Development of eating behaviours among children and adolescents. Paediatrics 1998; 101: 539-549.
McNaughton SA, Ball K, Mishra GD, Crawford DA. Dietary patterns of adolescents and risk of obesity and hypertension. J Nutr 2008; 138: 364-370.
Imamura F, Micha R, Khatibzadeh S, Fahimi S, Shi P, Powles J, Mozaffarian D, Nutrition GB. of D., (NutriCoDE, C.D.E.G., others,. Dietary quality among men and women in 187 countries in 1990 and 2010: a systematic assessment. Lancet Glob. Health 2015; 3: e132-e142.
Moreno LA, Rodríguez G, Fleta J, Bueno-Lozano M, Lázaro A, Bueno G. Trends of Dietary Habits in Adolescents. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr 2010; 50: 106-112. https://doi.org/10.1080/10408390903467480
Saleem A. Sedentary lifestyle and dietry factors leading to childhood obesity among children 5-19 years. Northwest J Med Sci 2016; 1.
Ene-Obong H, Ibeanu V, Onuoha N, Ejekwu A. Prevalence of overweight, obesity, and thinness among urban school-aged children and adolescents in southern Nigeria. Food Nutr Bull 2012; 33: 242-250. https://doi.org/10.1177/156482651203300404
Bin Zaal AA, Musaiger AO, D’Souza R. Dietary habits associated with obesity among adolescents in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Nutr Hosp 2009; 24: 437-444.
Khayri HO, Muneer SE, Ahmed SB, Osman MA, Babiker EE. Assessment of the Nutritional Status of Sudanese Primary School Pupils in Riyadh City, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. J Immigr Minor Health 2016; 18: 28-33. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-014-0135-3
Dev DA, McBride BA, Fiese BH, Jones BL, Cho H. Risk factors for overweight/obesity in preschool children: an ecological approach. Child Obes 2013; 9: 399-408. https://doi.org/10.1089/chi.2012.0150
Stea TH, Vik FN, Bere E, Svendsen MV, Oellingrath IM. Meal pattern among Norwegian primary-school children and longitudinal associations between meal skipping and weight status. Public Health Nutr 2015; 18: 286-291. https://doi.org/10.1017/S136898001400010X
Anderson AS, Macintyre S, West P. Dietary patterns among adolescents in the West of Scotland. Br J Nutr 1994; 71: 111-122. https://doi.org/10.1079/BJN19940116
Askari Majabadi H, Solhi M, Montazeri A, Shojaeizadeh D, Nejat S, Khalajabadi Farahani F, Djazayeri A. Factors Influe-ncing Fast-Food Consumption among Adolescents in Tehran: A Qualitative Study. Iran Red Crescent Med J 2016; 18. https://doi.org/10.5812/ircmj.23890
Youfa W. Cross-national comparison of childhood obesity: the epidemic and the relationship between obesity and socioeconomic status. Int J Epidemiol 2001; 30: 1129-1136. https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/30.5.1129
Del Mar Bibiloni M, Pich J, Pons A, Tur JA. Body image and eating patterns among adolescents. BMC Public Health 2013; 13: 1.
TeMorenga L, Mallard S, Mann J. Dietary sugars and body weight: systematic review and meta-analyses of randomised controlled trials and cohort studies. BMJ 2012; 346: e7492-e7492.
Malik VS, Pan A, Willett WC, Hu FB. Sugar-sweetened beverages and weight gain in children and adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Am J Clin Nutr 2013; 98: 1084-1102. https://doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.113.058362
Baldasso JG, Galante AP, De Piano Ganen A. Impact of actions of food and nutrition education program in a population of adolescents. Rev Nutr 2016; 29: 65-75. https://doi.org/10.1590/1678-98652016000100007
Cunha DB, Souza B, da SN, de Pereira RA, Sichieri R. Effectiveness of a Randomized School-Based Intervention Involving Families and Teachers to Prevent Excessive Weight Gain among Adolescents in Brazil. PLoS ONE 2013; 8: e57498.
Rani MA, Sathiyasekaran BWC. Behavioural Determinants for Obesity: A Cross-sectional Study among Urban Adolescents in India. J Prev Med Pub Health 2013; 46: 192-200. https://doi.org/10.3961/jpmph.2013.46.4.192
Chopra M, Galbraith S, Darnton-Hill I. A global response to a global problem: the epidemic of over nutrition. Bull World Health Organ 2002; 80: 952-958.
Laska MN, Larson NI, Neumark-Sztainer D, Story M. Does involvement in food preparation track from adolescence to young adulthood and is it associated with better dietary quality? Findings from a 10-year longitudinal study. Public Health Nutr 2012; 15: 1150-1158. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980011003004
Allafi A, Al-Haifi AR, Al-Fayez MA, Al-Athari BI, Al-Ajmi FA, Al-Hazzaa HM, Musaiger AO, Ahmed F. Physical activity, sedentary behaviours and dietary habits among Kuwaiti adolescents: gender differences. Public Health Nutr 2014; 17: 2045-2052. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980013002218
Bhurosy T, Jeewon R. Overweight and Obesity Epidemic in Developing Countries: A Problem with Diet, Physical Activity, or Socioeconomic Status? Sci World J 2014; 2014: 1-7.
Sichieri R. Dietary patterns and their associations with obesity in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro. Obes Res 2002; 10: 42-48. https://doi.org/10.1038/oby.2002.6
Garry Egger et al. An ecological approach to obesity environment. Education and debate. BMJ 1997; 315.
Sarah L. Booth, PhD et al. Environmental and Societal Factors Affect Food Choice and Physical Activity: Rational Influences and Leverage Points. Nutrition Reviews 2001; 59(3).
Savage JS, Fisher JO, Birch LL. Parental Influence on Eating Behaviour: Conception to Adolescence. J Law Med Ethics 2007; 35(1): 22-34. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-720X.2007.00111.x
Oniang’o RK, Mutuku JM, Malaba SJ. Contemporary African food habits and their nutritional and health implications. Asia Pacific J Clin Nutr 2003; 12(3): 231-236
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Policy for Journals/Articles with Open Access
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post links to their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work
Policy for Journals / Manuscript with Paid Access
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Publisher retain copyright .
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post links to their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work .