Publication:

Prevalence and risk factors of obesity among senior high school students in the Adansi North district of Ghana

Background Obesity is one of today's noticeable yet neglected public health problem with serious health consequences such as hypertension, type 2 diabetes that affect individuals of all ages globally. Adolescents are particularly prone to obesity owing to their reduction in physical activity. This study was to determine the prevalence and risk factors of obesity among Senior High School Students in the Adansi North District of Ghana.

Methods A descriptive cross- sectional survey was conducted among 306 adolescents aged 12- 19 years. The adolescents were recruited from the five senior high schools in the district using stratified random sampling technique. Data was collected by the use of structured questionnaire and anthropometric data sheet to calculate for BMI levels. STATA version 11.1, and Microsoft Excel was used to analyze the data collected.

Results Results from the chi-square test indicated that, there was a significant relationship between leisure activities and obesity such as playing computer games (x2=7.5086, df=9, p<0.05), and TV watching (x2=6.3576, df=2, p<0.05). A significant relationship was between food consumption pattern and obesity (x2=21.6181, df=9, p<0.05). Overall prevalence of obesity among the adolescents was found to be 47.06%.

Conclusions The study concludes that, the prevalence of obesity among the adolescents in the district is quite high compared to rates in some developed countries. There is the need to plan for the most efficient and effective interventions not only to ensure food security, but also maintain healthy lifestyles, so as to reduce the prevalence of obesity among the adolescents in the district and in Ghana as a whole.