Predictors of adolescent weight status and central obesity in rural South Africa
Open Access
- 28 February 2011
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in Public Health Nutrition
- Vol. 14 (6), 1114-1122
- https://doi.org/10.1017/s1368980011000139
Abstract
Objective: To investigate predictors of adolescent obesity in rural South Africa.Design: Cross-sectional study. Height, weight and waist circumference were measured using standard procedures. Overweight and obesity in adolescents aged 10–17 years were assessed using the International Obesity Taskforce cut-offs, while the WHO adult cut-offs were used for participants aged 18–20 years. Waist-to-height ratio of >0·5 defined central obesity in those at Tanner stages 3–5. Linear and logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate risk factors.Setting: Agincourt sub-district, rural South Africa.Subjects: Participants (n1848) were aged 10–20 years.Results: Combined overweight and obesity was higher in girls (15 %) than boys (4 %), as was central obesity (15 % and 2 %, respectively). With regard to overweight/obesity, fourfold higher odds were observed for girls and twofold higher odds were observed for participants from households with the highest socio-economic status (SES). The odds for overweight/obesity were 40 % lower if the household head had not completed secondary level education. For central obesity, the odds increased 10 % for each unit increase in age; girls had sevenfold higher oddsv. boys; post-pubertal participants had threefold higher oddsv. pubertal participants; those with older mothers aged 50+ years had twofold higher oddsv. those whose mothers were aged 35–49 years; those in highest SES households had twofold higher oddsv. those in lowest SES households.Conclusions: In rural South Africa, adolescent females are most at risk of obesity which increases with age and appears to be associated with higher SES. To intervene effectively, it is essential to understand how household factors influence food choice, diet and exercise.This publication has 40 references indexed in Scilit:
- Striving against adversity: the dynamics of migration, health and poverty in rural South AfricaGlobal Health Action, 2010
- The prevalence of stunting, overweight and obesity, and metabolic disease risk in rural South African childrenBMC Public Health, 2010
- Obesity risk: importance of the waist-to-height ratioNursing Standard, 2009
- Socioeconomic position and overweight among adolescents: data from birth cohort studies in Brazil and the UKBMC Public Health, 2009
- Research into health, population and social transitions in rural South Africa: Data and methods of the Agincourt Health and Demographic Surveillance System1Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 2007
- Migration, settlement change and health in post-apartheid South Africa: Triangulating health and demographic surveillance with national census data1Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 2007
- Childhood Overweight, Obesity, and the Metabolic Syndrome in Developing CountriesEpidemiologic Reviews, 2007
- Changes in Sedentary Behavior among Adolescent Girls: A 2.5-Year Prospective Cohort StudyJournal of Adolescent Health, 2007
- Trends in Internal Labour Migration from Rural Limpopo Province, Male Risk Behaviour, and Implications for the Spread of HIV/AIDS in Rural South AfricaJournal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 2006
- The nutrition transition: worldwide obesity dynamics and their determinantsInternational Journal of Obesity, 2004