Overweight, obesity and associated factors among public secondary school students in Dakar

Background: Insufficient epidemiological data are available on childhood overweight and obesity in Senegal. The objective of this study was therefore to determine the prevalence of overweight, obesity and associated factors among public secondary school students in Dakar. Methodology: A descriptive and analytical cross-sectional study was conducted from 6 January to 31 January 2014. The study population comprised all public secondary school students in the Dakar region. Two-stage sampling (high school; students) was conducted. Chi(2), Fisher or Wald tests were used according to their conditions of applicability. The odds ratio and its confidence interval was calculated to determine the strength of the link. Results: A female predominance was observed (61.5%) with a girl/boy ratio of 1.6. Age ranged from 13 to 18 years, with a mean age of 16.8 +/- 1.3 years, and 54.7% of students were under the age of 17. The three main daily meals, and the morning and afternoon snacks were provided for 93.7%, 58.7% and 46.5% of students, respectively. 47.9% of students went to school by car; 96.9% played sports at high school and 52.5% had sporting activities outside of school. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 11.0% and 1.4%, respectively. Overweight was more common among girls (ajOR = 3.0[1.2-7.5]) and/or those who felt fat (ajOR = 7.3[12.7-19.4] and was less common among those who practiced sport at school (ajOR = 0.2[0.1-0.8]) and/or who ate pulses (p = 0.009; OR undefined). Conclusion: These results support outreach activities for students, and the involvement of parents and teachers in strategies focused on food hygiene and sport.