Frequency and risk factors of obesity in Tunisian adolescent

The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence and the risk factors of obesity in Tunisian adolescent.

This prospective study included 1050 adolescents (aged 13 to 17 years) from two high schools according to the socioeconomic status. The aim was to evaluate the prevalence and the main risk factors of obesity in this studied group. The weight and height of every adolescent were measured and the Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated for each of them. Using this criteria and referring to the curves of this Index for the age established by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) we found 49 obese adolescents. We evaluated the spontaneous food intake for each of them during three days. The results showed that the frequency of obesity is 5.1% without significant difference between the two schools. The highest obesity frequency is noticed at age 13 and 14 years in the two sexes. The obesity frequency is significantly more important in males of the high socioeconomic status. Family history of obesity was noticed in 51% of obese adolescents. Most of them (96%) had abnormal alimentary behavior. 52% of them had an excess of caloric intake and 82% an excess of lipid without significant difference between the two schools.