Overnutrition and Associated Factors Among High School Adolescents in Mid COVID-19 Pandemic in Ethiopia: Neglected Public Health Concern

BACKGROUND: Adolescent overnutrition is becoming a global public health problem, increasing at an alarming rate in developing countries. Overnutrition increases the risks of serious diet-related chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and stroke. However, there is limited evidence on the magnitude and risk factors of overnutrition in the study area. OBJECTIVE: To determine the magnitude of overnutrition and associated factors among school adolescents in Dire Dawa, Eastern Ethiopia. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted from May to June 2021 among 498 adolescent students selected using a multi-stage sampling procedure. A systematic random sampling technique was employed. Self-administered questionnaires, including food frequency and anthropometric measurement, were used to collect the data. The BMI-for-age Z score was calculated using the WHO Anthro-Plus. A binary logistic regression model was fitted with an odds ratio, and 95% confidence levels. Statistical significance is declared at a p-value below 0.05. RESULTS: A total of 498 (98.4%) were included with the overall prevalence of overnutrition of 26.1% (95% CI: 22.3–29.9), where 23.7% and 2.4% had overweight and obesity, respectively. Being female (AOR = 3.32; 95% CI: 1.65–6.63), attending at private school (AOR = 4.97; 95% CI: 1.72–14.35), having sweet food preferences (AOR = 6.26; 95% CI: 3.14–12.5), snacking (AOR = 3.05; 95% CI: 1.11–8.36), sedentary behavior (AOR = 3.20; 95% CI: 1.67–6.09), and eating while watching TV (AOR= 2.95; 95% CI: 1.47–5.95) were significantly associated with overnutrition. CONCLUSION: Overnutrition is a major emerging public health problem in eastern Ethiopia. School type, sex, sweet food preferences, habits of snacking, sedentary behaviors, and eating while watching TV were significantly associated with overnutrition. Therefore, public health strategies to curb overweight and obesity among high school adolescents are urgently needed in order to reduce the prevalence and its adverse complications.