Overweight and obesity trends and association with household wealth index among children aged 5 to 19 years in Ethiopia a multilevel analysis of 2016 EDHS data

Abstract

Abstract Globally, an estimated 2.6 billion people, or 38%, are overweight or obese; the prevalence of obesity alone is anticipated to be 14%, or nearly 2 billion adults, children, and adolescents, by 2020. In addition, in 2035, the yearly worldwide economic cost of overweight and obesity will be $4.32 trillion if preventive and treatment strategies remain unchanged. This is equivalent to the impact of COVID-19 in 2020, about 3% of global gross domestic product (GDP). As a result, this study aimed to determine the association between the household wealth index and overweight and obesity in children over five in Ethiopia. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted and data collection from a nationally representative sample of the 2016 Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS). The data collection was conducted from January to June 2016. The total sample of 20,584 children and adolescents aged 5 to 19 years old was utilized in the analysis. The overweight/obesity was measured by the weight-for-height (WFH) index, more than two standard deviations (+ 2 SD) above the median of the reference population based on the BMI Z-score. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the predictors, and the findings were shown as an adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with a 95% confidence interval. At a p-value < 0.05, statistical significance was deemed to exist. Overall, out of 20,584 children aged 5 to 19 years, 2,336 (11.3%) were overweight or obese in Ethiopia. Factors such as maternal age greater than 40 years (AOR = 0.76, 95%CI: 0.67–0.89), mobile phone ownership (AOR = 1.36, 95%CI: 1.06–1.75), household use of solid fuel (AOR = 3.25, 95%1.66–6.37), middle wealth index (AOR = 1.47, 95% CI: 1.04–2.06), richest wealth index (AOR = 2.76, 95%CI: 1.59–4.81), regions lived in Afar (AOR = 0.28, 95%CI, 0.10–0.79), Gambela (AOR = 0.09, 95%CI, 0.03–0.24), Amhara (AOR = 3.27, 95%CI, 1.19–8.97), and Addis Ababa (AOR = 6.94, 95%CI, 1.36–12.68) were statistically significant with overweight and obesity among children older than five population in Ethiopia. This study pointed out factors such as maternal age, mobile phone ownership, household use of solid fuel, households having a middle and higher income, and living in Afar, Gambela, Amhara, and Addis Ababa are independent predictors of overweight and obesity among children older than five population in Ethiopia. As a result, a wide range of known contributing variables should be taken into account in programs aimed at reducing children’s overweight and obesity.

Keywords

• Overweight
• Obesity
• Children
• EDHS
• Ethiopia