Journal of Obesity & Weight Loss Therapy
Open Access

Abstract

Introduction: The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of overweight among adolescents in public schools in the city of Parakou. Methods: It was a descriptive and analytical cross sectional study with prospective data collection from 7 December 2015 to 31 March 2016. Students were regularly enrolled in public secondary schools of Parakou, aged 10 to 18 who received the written consent of their parents. The selection of students was done in a three degree random sampling technique. Overweight was defined by body mass index, according to BMI curves of the World Health Organization. The threshold values provided by the NHANES III were used to define abdominal obesity. The blood glucose and lipids were performed by enzymatic colorimetric methods on specimens from patients fasted for at least 6 hours. Other variables were blood pressure, eating habits, smoking, alcohol consumption and physical activity. Results: A total of 422 students including 259 girls were identified. The mean age was 15.22�±2.27 years. The prevalence of overweight was 27.96% (95% CI [23.78%-32.55%]), while that of obesity was 18.48% (95% CI [14.96%-22.55%]). Abdominal obesity was at 10.19% (95% CI [7.55%-13.58%]). The majority (95.35%) of students with abdominal obesity was overweight. Metabolic syndrome was observed in 5.45% (95% CI [3.24%-7.56%]). The factors significantly associated with overweight were the female sex, age â�¥15 years, high blood pressure, total cholesterol and LDL, hypertriglyceridemia and hyperglycemia. Conclusion: These data from a poor country like Benin revealed a high prevalence of obesity and metabolic syndrome in children and adolescents in schools. Preventive measures need to be taken.

Biography

Codjo H Leopold has completed his PhD and Post-doctoral studies from Faculté des Sciences de la Santé de Cotonou. He is the Head of the Cardiology Unit of Departmental Teaching Hospital of Borgou (North Bénin). He has published more than 15 papers in reputed journals and has been serving as an Editorial Board Member of repute (Cardiovascular Journal of Africa, annales de l’université de Parakou, British Journal of Medicine and Medical Research).

Email: leostelles@yahoo.fr