Overweight and Obesity among Urban School-Going Adolescents in Dhaka Bangladesh: Prevalence and Sex Differences of the Associated Factors

There was a lack of primary research among urban adolescent students regarding the prevalence and factors of obesity. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and factors associated with overweight and obesity among urban school-going Bangladeshi adolescents. A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among 65 male and 48 female students, and the data were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire through a face-to-face interview method. Descriptive statistics were used to determine the prevalence of obesity, and a Chi-square test was performed to find out the factors associated with obesity. The study found that 23% of students were obese, 52.2% were overweight, and 17.7% were normal. More female students (64.6%) were overweight compared to male students (43.1%) (p=0.106). Age, gender, family income, body mass index (BMI), parental education and employment, physical activity, sleep patterns, and dietary behaviors, have no significant association with BMI. About half of the students did not participate in any sports over the last 12 months, with males engaging in sports more frequently than females (p=0.202). About 80.5% of students slept less than 8 hours daily, with females significantly (p=0.037) more likely to have insufficient sleep. Dietary behavior showed that 60.2% of participants skipped breakfast in the last 30 days, with females skipping more often than males (p=0.665). Furthermore, 64.6% of students did not bring lunch to school (p=0.428) and 36.3% consumed greasy food 3 times or more per day (p=0.304). No significant differences were found in dietary behaviors between male and female students. This study emphasizes considerable prevailing factors of the adolescents, particularly concerning their nutrition, physical activity levels, and sleep patterns.