Dietary diversity and nutritional status of adolescents in Lagos, Nigeria

Background/Objectives: Adolescents in low- and middle-income countries, such as Nigeria, are at increased risk of malnutrition, especially obesity, but there is limited data describing the risk. We assessed this risk by examining the nutritional status and associated factors such as dietary habits,...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Foluke A. Olatona, Precious I. Ogide, Ebunoluwa T. Abikoye, Oluwafemi T. Ilesanmi, Kelechi E. Nnoaham
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2023-08-01
Series:Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_1783_22
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1846170816318799872
author Foluke A. Olatona
Precious I. Ogide
Ebunoluwa T. Abikoye
Oluwafemi T. Ilesanmi
Kelechi E. Nnoaham
author_facet Foluke A. Olatona
Precious I. Ogide
Ebunoluwa T. Abikoye
Oluwafemi T. Ilesanmi
Kelechi E. Nnoaham
author_sort Foluke A. Olatona
collection DOAJ
description Background/Objectives: Adolescents in low- and middle-income countries, such as Nigeria, are at increased risk of malnutrition, especially obesity, but there is limited data describing the risk. We assessed this risk by examining the nutritional status and associated factors such as dietary habits, dietary diversity, nutritional knowledge and sociodemographic characteristics among adolescents in Lagos, Nigeria. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study in which 682 adolescents were selected from their communities using a multistage sampling technique. Dietary habits were assessed using a food frequency questionnaire, and dietary diversity was assessed through nonquantifiable 24-h diet recall. Anthropometric measurements were taken to determine nutritional status. Data were analyzed using Epi-Info software version 7.2.3.1. Nutritional status was evaluated using WHO AnthroPlus software. Chi-square was used to test for an association between categorical variables, and P values ≤0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: The mean age of the adolescents was 13.6 ± 2.3 years, and only 47.4% of them had good nutritional knowledge. Dietary habits were poor and dietary diversity was low. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 13.4% and 7.0%. Eating dinner, dieting to control weight and daily consumption of foods outside the home were associated with overweight and obesity (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Dietary habits and diversity of the adolescents were poor, while overweight and obesity were high. Eating dinner and daily consumption of foods outside the home were factors associated with being overweight and obesity. Our findings emphasize the critical need for adolescent nutrition programs that address weight control, especially among those who eat outside their homes.
format Article
id doaj-art-43ff2fbb6df3418c9aee92ce14284211
institution Kabale University
issn 2249-4863
2278-7135
language English
publishDate 2023-08-01
publisher Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications
record_format Article
series Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care
spelling doaj-art-43ff2fbb6df3418c9aee92ce142842112024-11-11T11:10:44ZengWolters Kluwer Medknow PublicationsJournal of Family Medicine and Primary Care2249-48632278-71352023-08-011281547155410.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_1783_22Dietary diversity and nutritional status of adolescents in Lagos, NigeriaFoluke A. OlatonaPrecious I. OgideEbunoluwa T. AbikoyeOluwafemi T. IlesanmiKelechi E. NnoahamBackground/Objectives: Adolescents in low- and middle-income countries, such as Nigeria, are at increased risk of malnutrition, especially obesity, but there is limited data describing the risk. We assessed this risk by examining the nutritional status and associated factors such as dietary habits, dietary diversity, nutritional knowledge and sociodemographic characteristics among adolescents in Lagos, Nigeria. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study in which 682 adolescents were selected from their communities using a multistage sampling technique. Dietary habits were assessed using a food frequency questionnaire, and dietary diversity was assessed through nonquantifiable 24-h diet recall. Anthropometric measurements were taken to determine nutritional status. Data were analyzed using Epi-Info software version 7.2.3.1. Nutritional status was evaluated using WHO AnthroPlus software. Chi-square was used to test for an association between categorical variables, and P values ≤0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: The mean age of the adolescents was 13.6 ± 2.3 years, and only 47.4% of them had good nutritional knowledge. Dietary habits were poor and dietary diversity was low. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 13.4% and 7.0%. Eating dinner, dieting to control weight and daily consumption of foods outside the home were associated with overweight and obesity (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Dietary habits and diversity of the adolescents were poor, while overweight and obesity were high. Eating dinner and daily consumption of foods outside the home were factors associated with being overweight and obesity. Our findings emphasize the critical need for adolescent nutrition programs that address weight control, especially among those who eat outside their homes.https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_1783_22adolescent obesitydietary diversitydietary factors associated with obesitydietary habitsnutritional statusobesityoverweight
spellingShingle Foluke A. Olatona
Precious I. Ogide
Ebunoluwa T. Abikoye
Oluwafemi T. Ilesanmi
Kelechi E. Nnoaham
Dietary diversity and nutritional status of adolescents in Lagos, Nigeria
Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care
adolescent obesity
dietary diversity
dietary factors associated with obesity
dietary habits
nutritional status
obesity
overweight
title Dietary diversity and nutritional status of adolescents in Lagos, Nigeria
title_full Dietary diversity and nutritional status of adolescents in Lagos, Nigeria
title_fullStr Dietary diversity and nutritional status of adolescents in Lagos, Nigeria
title_full_unstemmed Dietary diversity and nutritional status of adolescents in Lagos, Nigeria
title_short Dietary diversity and nutritional status of adolescents in Lagos, Nigeria
title_sort dietary diversity and nutritional status of adolescents in lagos nigeria
topic adolescent obesity
dietary diversity
dietary factors associated with obesity
dietary habits
nutritional status
obesity
overweight
url https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_1783_22
work_keys_str_mv AT folukeaolatona dietarydiversityandnutritionalstatusofadolescentsinlagosnigeria
AT preciousiogide dietarydiversityandnutritionalstatusofadolescentsinlagosnigeria
AT ebunoluwatabikoye dietarydiversityandnutritionalstatusofadolescentsinlagosnigeria
AT oluwafemitilesanmi dietarydiversityandnutritionalstatusofadolescentsinlagosnigeria
AT kelechiennoaham dietarydiversityandnutritionalstatusofadolescentsinlagosnigeria