Are children in the Limpopo province of South Africa overweight and obese? A review

Abstract

Overweight and obesity, defined as conditions in which body fat accumulates excessively in the body, that have arguably become a paediatric health concern in developing and developed countries. Overweight and obesity are associated with increased mortality, coronary heart disease, hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis and some cancers. This non-systematic review explores extant literature on the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children aged 0 – 19 years residing in Limpopo province, South Africa, for the past twenty-one years (2005-2022). The following databases were searched and used to undertake a narrative review of published literature on the theme: Google Scholar, Medline, PubMed and ScienceDirect. Recent studies have shown that the prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity in South Africa has increased and it is higher than the global average. Limpopo province, despite being rural, is not immune to the increase in childhood overweight and obesity. The consequence of childhood overweight and obesity is a recognised health risk for adults, despite that it manifests itself at a younger age. In spite of the increased prevalence of overweight and obesity among children in Limpopo province, few studies have been conducted, especially in rural and underprivileged communities in the country. As the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children residing in Limpopo province has been increasing in recent years, more needs to be done to promote a healthy lifestyle, such as increasing physical activity at a younger age. This could play a major role in mitigating the increase of overweight and obesity among children.