scholarly journals Prevalence of excess body weight and associated factors among secondary school adolescent girls in northern Tanzania: a cross-sectional study

2020 ◽  
Vol 37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Tengia-Kessy ◽  
Jackline Narcis Killenga
Author(s):  
Piotr Wieniawski ◽  
Bożena Werner

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to assess the prevalence of abnormal weight and anthropometric parameters along with abnormal blood pressure values in adolescents in Poland. Anthropometric measurements were taken in the studied age group and the correlation between these values and blood pressure values and the diagnosis of hypertension was analyzed. The main aim of the study was to characterize the particular age group in the selected population: 690 students aged 15–17 years were examined. Blood pressure and anthropometric values including height, weight, circumferences of the hips, abdomen and arms, as well as skinfolds on the back of the arm, below the scapula and the stomach, were taken. The following indexes were calculated: WHR (waist to hip ratio), WHtR (waist to height ratio), BAI (body adiposity index-hip to height ratio) and BMI (body mass index). Mean SBP (systolic blood pressure) was 112.3 (standard deviation (SD) 12.2) mmHg, and DBP (diastolic blood pressure) was 66.9 (SD 6.9) mmHg. The prevalence of hypertension in the studied group was 5.8% (3.2% boys, 2.6% girls) and prehypertension was present in 4.4% (1.6% boys, 2.8% girls). The prevalence of excess body weight was 23.6%-obesity 11.3% (40 girls, 27 boys) and overweight 12.3% (50 girls, 34 boys). Correlations between BMI and waist, hip and arm circumference, subscapular and abdominal skinfold thickness, WHtR and BAI were r = 0.86, r = 0.84, r = 0.88, r = 0.81, r = 0.75, r = 0.88 and r = 0.81, respectively (p < 0.05). Significant differences (p < 0.05) of SBP and DBP values, depending on weight category, as defined by BMI, were observed. Abnormal blood pressure values occur in one tenth and abnormal body weight in almost a quarter of the studied population. Obese and overweight children have higher SBP and DBP values compared to children with normal body weight.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Azmera Tamrat ◽  
Yigizie Yeshaw ◽  
Abel Fekadu Dadi

Introduction. Stunting is a crucial indicator of long-term chronic undernutrition that reflects a failure to reach a linear growth. Adolescent girls are potentially at a higher risk of stunting as they are traditionally married at an early age in low-income countries. In Ethiopia, stunting has mostly been examined in early childhood, with limited information at the early adolescent age. Therefore, this study is aimed at determining the prevalence of stunting and its associated factors among early adolescent school girls age 10 to 14 in Gondar town. Methods. We conducted a school-based cross-sectional study. A multistage sampling method was used to sample 662 adolescent girls in selected primary schools. A pretested, structured, and interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect the required data. Stata Version 14 and WHO Anthro-plus software were used to analyze the data. The bivariable and multivariable logistic regression model was fitted to identify factors associated with stunting. Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) with its 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated, and a p value ≤ 0.05 was considered to declare statistically significant variables. Results. The prevalence of stunting was 27.5% [95% CI: 25.5%-29.5%]. The odds of stunting were found to be higher among grade 5 students [AOR; 95% CI: 1.90; 1.13-3.20], those who reported a daily meal frequency of less than three [AOR; 95% CI: 2.37; 1.60-3.50], and those who were from food-insecure families [AOR; 95% CI: 2.52; 1.70-3.73]. Adolescent girls whose mothers were government employees [AOR; 95% CI: 0.48; 0.26–0.89] or merchants [AOR; 95% CI: 0.43; 0.28–0.67] were less likely to be stunted compared to those whose mothers were housewives. Conclusion. Stunting among early adolescent girls is found to be a moderate public health problem. A school-based nutritional program might be helpful to reduce stunting in this group of adolescent girls.


Author(s):  
Vinay . ◽  
Neelam Kumar ◽  
J. S. Malik ◽  
Aman Sachdeva

Background: Adolescent girls in today’s world are extremely conscious of perceptions of a perfect body. With the growing sense of thin ideal body image during adolescence, they try to lose body weight to attain the perfect body size. The emphasis on thinness and on an ideal female body shape and size is physically and psychologically detrimental to the health of many young women. This study was carried out with objective to find the prevalence of body image issue among adolescent girls in rural area.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in block Lakhanmajra, district Rohtak, Haryana. Adolescent girls in age group 13-19 years studying in class 8 to class 12 in 10 government and private senior secondary schools of Lakhanmajra block were included in the study. The total sample of 500 students was included in the study. A pre-designed pre-tested semi-structured interview schedule was used, and the responses were recorded by the investigator herself.Results: The findings of the present study show that 20.2% adolescent girls did not like their appearance when they look in the mirror and thus had body image dissatisfaction. 88.0% adolescent girls were satisfied with their weight and 12.0% were dissatisfied. 80.0% of the study subjects who were dissatisfied with their body weight had normal age specific BMI values. Only 20% of the adolescent girls who were not satisfied with their weight were underweight or overweight.Conclusions: More worries and less satisfaction about body image are found in girls. The relatives, the media, the peers and the community all have an impact on body shape satisfaction. But the greatest influence is that of the media and the community through standardising a thin ideal for female beauty.


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