Prevalence and determinants of obesity among primary school children in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Archives of Public Health

Alfa J Muhihi⁴  Rose N M Mpembeni²  Marina A Njelekela⁵  Amani Anaeli³  Omary Chillo⁶  Sulende Kubhoja¹  Benjamin Lujani⁶  Mwanamkuu Maghembe⁶  Davis Ngarashi⁶ 

[1] Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

[2] Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

[3] Department of Development Studies, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

[4] Ifakara Health Institute, Ifakara, Morogoro, Tanzania

[5] Muhimbili National Hospital, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

[6] Department of Physiology, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

关键词: Tanzania;    Children;    Urban;    Determinants;    Child obesity;    Prevalence;   

Others  :  790703
DOI  :  10.1186/0778-7367-71-26

 received in 2013-06-17, accepted in 2013-10-02,  发布年份 2013

【 摘 要 】

Background

Childhood obesity has increased dramatically and has become a public health concern worldwide. Childhood obesity is likely to persist through adulthood and may lead to early onset of NCDs. However, there is paucity of data on obesity among primary school children in Tanzania. This study assessed the prevalence and determinants of obesity among primary school children in Dar es Salaam.

Methods

A cross sectional study was conducted among school age children in randomly selected schools in Dar es Salaam. Anthropometric and blood pressure measurements were taken using standard procedures. Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated as weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters (kg/m²). Child obesity was defined as BMI at or above 95th percentile for age and sex. Socio-demographic characteristics of children were determined using a structured questionnaire. Logistic regression was used to determine association between independent variables with obesity among primary school children in Dar es Salaam.

Results

A total of 446 children were included in the analysis. The mean age of the participants was 11.1±2.0 years and 53.1% were girls. The mean BMI, SBP and DBP were 16.6±4.0 kg/m², 103.9±10.3mmHg and 65.6±8.2mmHg respectively. The overall prevalence of child obesity was 5.2% and was higher among girls (6.3%) compared to boys (3.8%). Obese children had significantly higher mean values for age (p=0.042), systolic and diastolic blood pressures (all p<0.001). Most obese children were from households with fewer children (p=0.019) and residing in urban areas (p=0.002). Controlling for other variables, age above 10 years (AOR=3.3, 95% CI=1.5-7.2), female sex (AOR=2.6, 95% CI=1.4-4.9), urban residence (AOR=2.5, 95% CI=1.2-5.3) and having money to spend at school (AOR=2.6, 95% CI=1.4-4.8) were significantly associated with child obesity.

Conclusions

The prevalence of childhood obesity in this population was found to be low. However, children from urban schools and girls were proportionately more obese compared to their counterparts. Primary preventive measures for childhood obesity should start early in childhood and address socioeconomic factors of parents contributing to childhood obesity.

【 授权许可】

   
2013 Muhihi et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

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