Factors Associated with Overweight and Obesity in the Schools of Parakou in 2017

摘要

Introduction:The dietary changes and the new lifestyles which occurred in low-incomecountries like Benin resulted in a nutritional transition with its burden ofoverweight and obesity among the child and adolescent population who is stillsuffering from undernutrition. This study aimed to identify the factorsassociated with overweight and obesity in the schools of Parakou in 2017.Patients and Methods: This research work is a cross-sectional descriptive andanalytic study carried out from May to June 2017 in the state-owned and privatehigh/secondary schools of Parakou. It focused on a representative sample of 730high school students randomly selected according to the WHO two-stage clustersampling technique. The weight and size of each of the students included in thestudy were measured; and then their bodymass index (BMI) was calculated. The data related to respondents’ dietarypattern and lifestyle were collected. Those data were processed using thesoftware Epi Info version 7.2.1. The prevalence ratio (PR) was used to measureassociations with their confidence interval and the difference was considered significant when p i.e. a ratio of 1.1. Prevalence of overweight/obesity was estimated at 16.2% including 12.5% of overweight and3.7% of obesity. The factors associated with overweight and obesity were femalesex, excessive intake of sugar-sweetened beverages and drinks, low level of physical activity and family historyof obesity. Conclusion: A behavior change regarding the different contributingfactors is necessary to reverse the trends in overweight and obesity prevalencein the high/secondary schools in the District of Parakou.