Birthweight, physical inactivity and nutritional pattern as predictors of adiposity in an adolescence population in Uyo, South – South Nigeria

Abstract

Adolescent Obesity is an important public health crisis with varying prevalence rates in several parts of Nigeria. A study in South-West Nigeria reported a prevalence of 4.2%, while another in South-South Nigeria reported a prevalence of 4.3%. The present study determined the prevalence of Obesity and its association with birth weight, physical inactivity and eating habits amongst apparently healthy adolescents in Uyo. 
This was a cross-sectional study of 1701 adolescents, carried out between December 2016 and April 2019. It involved weight, height and waist circumference (WC) measurement as well as administration of pre-tested questionnaires which assessed birth weight, television viewing, exercise involvement, feeding frequency and soft drink consumption. 
Prevalence of Obesity was 5.6% using Body Mass Index (BMI), while it was 11.2% using waist circumference percentile and 9% using waist-to-height ratio(WtHR). Meal frequency and sedentary behaviour were found to be predisposing factors for obesity. No association was found between birth weight and obesity. This study showed a high prevalence of general and central obesity.