Prevalence of overweight and obesity among selected schoolchildren and adolescents in Cofimvaba, South Africa
Background: Childhood obesity has become a growing global epidemic. In South Africa, overweight and obesity during childhood and adolescence are rising. The objectives of this study were (i) to estimate the prevalence of overweight and obesity among selected students in Cofimvaba, a rural settlement...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2021-07-01
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| Series: | The South African Journal of Clinical Nutrition |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/16070658.2020.1733305 |
| _version_ | 1797678761746890752 |
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| author | Olufunmilola Otitoola Wilna Oldewage-Theron Abdul Egal |
| author_facet | Olufunmilola Otitoola Wilna Oldewage-Theron Abdul Egal |
| author_sort | Olufunmilola Otitoola |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Childhood obesity has become a growing global epidemic. In South Africa, overweight and obesity during childhood and adolescence are rising. The objectives of this study were (i) to estimate the prevalence of overweight and obesity among selected students in Cofimvaba, a rural settlement in Eastern Cape province, South Africa, and (ii) to assess the accuracy of the mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) and ultrasound triceps skin-fold thickness (TSF) methods of predicting these health parameters Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 211 students (109 girls and 102 boys) selected randomly from five public schools in Cofimvaba and aged 6–19 years. The weight, height, MUAC and TSF were determined by standard techniques. Data obtained were subjected to descriptive statistics, Pearson correlations and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Result: Overall 1.9% (1.8% girls and 2.0% boys) of the respondents were underweight, 14.8% (21.1% and 7.8% boys) were overweight and 2.8% (4.6% girls and 1.0% boys) were obese. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was significantly higher (p < 0.05) in girls than boys during adolescence but there was no gender difference in children (6–9 years). Most of the students (80.6%) had a healthy weight, with boys being significantly (p < 0.05) healthier than girls. The BMI showed significant strong correlations with MUAC (r = 0.926; p < 0.001) and TSF (r = 0.643; p < 0.001). ROC curve analysis gave an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.795 (95% CI, 0.761–0.889) and 0.835 (95% CI, 0.771–0.899) for MUAC and TSF respectively. Conclusion: The study found a high prevalence of overweight children in the sample and a low prevalence of stunting and underweight. The adolescent girls are at a higher risk of being overweight and obese than the boys. MUAC and TSF can adequately predict overweight and obesity among the selected students. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T23:04:31Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-874bc27953a9454ab8397cfe86ae2728 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1607-0658 2221-1268 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T23:04:31Z |
| publishDate | 2021-07-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The South African Journal of Clinical Nutrition |
| spelling | doaj.art-874bc27953a9454ab8397cfe86ae27282023-09-21T13:38:26ZengTaylor & Francis GroupThe South African Journal of Clinical Nutrition1607-06582221-12682021-07-013439710210.1080/16070658.2020.17333051733305Prevalence of overweight and obesity among selected schoolchildren and adolescents in Cofimvaba, South AfricaOlufunmilola Otitoola0Wilna Oldewage-Theron1Abdul Egal2Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Federal PolytechnicCentre for Sustainable Livelihoods, Vaal University of TechnologyCentre for Sustainable Livelihoods, Vaal University of TechnologyBackground: Childhood obesity has become a growing global epidemic. In South Africa, overweight and obesity during childhood and adolescence are rising. The objectives of this study were (i) to estimate the prevalence of overweight and obesity among selected students in Cofimvaba, a rural settlement in Eastern Cape province, South Africa, and (ii) to assess the accuracy of the mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) and ultrasound triceps skin-fold thickness (TSF) methods of predicting these health parameters Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 211 students (109 girls and 102 boys) selected randomly from five public schools in Cofimvaba and aged 6–19 years. The weight, height, MUAC and TSF were determined by standard techniques. Data obtained were subjected to descriptive statistics, Pearson correlations and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Result: Overall 1.9% (1.8% girls and 2.0% boys) of the respondents were underweight, 14.8% (21.1% and 7.8% boys) were overweight and 2.8% (4.6% girls and 1.0% boys) were obese. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was significantly higher (p < 0.05) in girls than boys during adolescence but there was no gender difference in children (6–9 years). Most of the students (80.6%) had a healthy weight, with boys being significantly (p < 0.05) healthier than girls. The BMI showed significant strong correlations with MUAC (r = 0.926; p < 0.001) and TSF (r = 0.643; p < 0.001). ROC curve analysis gave an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.795 (95% CI, 0.761–0.889) and 0.835 (95% CI, 0.771–0.899) for MUAC and TSF respectively. Conclusion: The study found a high prevalence of overweight children in the sample and a low prevalence of stunting and underweight. The adolescent girls are at a higher risk of being overweight and obese than the boys. MUAC and TSF can adequately predict overweight and obesity among the selected students.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/16070658.2020.1733305children and adolescentscofimvabamuacobesityoverweighttsf |
| spellingShingle | Olufunmilola Otitoola Wilna Oldewage-Theron Abdul Egal Prevalence of overweight and obesity among selected schoolchildren and adolescents in Cofimvaba, South Africa The South African Journal of Clinical Nutrition children and adolescents cofimvaba muac obesity overweight tsf |
| title | Prevalence of overweight and obesity among selected schoolchildren and adolescents in Cofimvaba, South Africa |
| title_full | Prevalence of overweight and obesity among selected schoolchildren and adolescents in Cofimvaba, South Africa |
| title_fullStr | Prevalence of overweight and obesity among selected schoolchildren and adolescents in Cofimvaba, South Africa |
| title_full_unstemmed | Prevalence of overweight and obesity among selected schoolchildren and adolescents in Cofimvaba, South Africa |
| title_short | Prevalence of overweight and obesity among selected schoolchildren and adolescents in Cofimvaba, South Africa |
| title_sort | prevalence of overweight and obesity among selected schoolchildren and adolescents in cofimvaba south africa |
| topic | children and adolescents cofimvaba muac obesity overweight tsf |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/16070658.2020.1733305 |
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