Alabi et al.

, 2023: Prevalence and Correlates of Adolescent Obesity Among Young Adults in South-Western Nigeria

Journal of Family Medicine and Health Care

2023; 11(6): 41-52
http://www.sciencepublishinggroup.com/j/jfmnhc
doi: 10.11618/j.jfmhc.20231903.11
ISSN: 2469-8326 (Print); ISSN: 2469-8342 (Online)

PREVALENCE AND CORRELATES OF ADOLESCENT OBESITY AMONG

YOUNG ADULTS IN SOUTH-WESTERN NIGERIA
1Alabi Kolawole Olusegun 2*Kiyesi Adekemi Layo 3Odunayo Adebukola Fatunla
1
Department of Family Medicine, Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, Ekiti state
2
Department of Chemical Pathology, Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, Rivers state
3
Department of Pediatrics, Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria
*Corresponding author: kiyesiadekemi@gmail.com

To cite this article:

Alabi Kolawole Olusegun, Kiyesi Adekemi Layo, Odunayo Adebukola Fatunlao.
Prevalence and Correlates of Adolescent Obesity Among Young Adults in South-Western Nigeria Journal of Family
Medicine and Health Care. Vol. 11, No. 6, 2023, pp. 41-52. doi: 10.11648/j.jfmnhc.20230903.11

Received: Aug 20, 2023; Accepted: Sep 2, 2023; Published: November 6, 2023

ABSTRACT
The prevalence of adolescent obesity has been reported to have significantly increased globally
and comorbidities such as hypertension, dyslipidaemia, impaired glucose metabolism, and poor
self-esteem have been linked to it. The study aimed to determine the prevalence of obesity,
impaired glucose tolerance, pre-hypertension/hypertension, and to determine any association
between obesity and age, gender, level of activity, impaired glucose tolerance and pre-
hypertension/hypertension among the adolescent respondents. A cross sectional survey of 300
new undergraduates of a university. A self-administered, structured questionnaire was used to
obtain information on socio-demographic characteristics and level of physical activity of the
respondents. Participants’ blood pressure, waist circumference, weight, height, and blood
glucose levels were measured. The results showed that the prevalence of obesity was 11.3%,
while that of impaired glucose tolerance, prehypertension and hypertension were 5%, 12.3%
and 2.7% respectively. Female participants were more obese while late adolescents tended to
be more overweight. Blood glucose levels, blood pressure, and engaging in any form of
exercise were not significantly associated with BMI status. However, obese participants had
significantly higher diastolic blood pressure and fasting blood glucose levels in comparison to
those who were not obese. Also, occurrence of hypertension/prehypertension was negligible
among those who engaged in regular jogging, walking, or running. In conclusion, higher
diastolic blood pressure and fasting blood glucose levels in obese adolescent, as found in this
study, may be a pretext for cardio-metabolic diseases in the future. Maintaining an active
lifestyle in adolescence may help prevent obesity and its correlates.
Keywords: Adolescent, Obesity, Blood pressure, Fasting blood glucose, Walking, Jogging
1.0 INTRODUCTION of human development, associated with
marked physical, neurodevelopmental,
The World Health Organization defines an psychological and social changes. [2]
adolescent as a young person in the second Obesity is a result of complex interaction
decade of life i.e. 10–19 years), [1] and between biological, developmental,
adolescence is one of the most rapid phases environmental, behavioural, and genetic

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 Alabi et al., 2023: Prevalence and Correlates of Adolescent Obesity Among Young Adults in South-Western Nigeria
factors and adiposity rebound (AR) in early
childhood has been identified as a risk
factor for obesity in adolescence and
adulthood. [3] Also, inequity in energy
balance (i.e. excess caloric intake without
appropriate caloric expenditure) has been
described as the most common cause of
obesity throughout childhood and
[3]
adolescence.
The global prevalence of adolescent obesity
has significantly increased over the past
three decades, especially in the developed
world, [4] but an increasing trend has also
been noticed in developing countries. [5]
Obesity in adolescence has been linked to a
number of medical and psychological
comorbidities such as hypertension,
dyslipidaemia, impaired glucose
metabolism, polycystic ovarian syndrome,
gastro-oesophageal reflux disease, weight-
related joint disease, poor self-esteem,
depression, eating disorders, attention
deficit hyperactivity disorder and internet
addiction. [6–8] With no intervention, these
comorbidities, as well as obesity, usually
continue into adulthood, which can result in
premature death. [9]
Data published in the past few years
indicate that at least 17% of the adolescents
in the USA, [10] had obesity (defined as a
BMI >97th percentile). Nicolucci and
Maffeis, [11] reported a prevalence of 9.4%
of obesity among European adolescents in
2022. In Tukey, the prevalence of
adolescent obesity was 11.3% and 7.9% in
urban and rural areas respectively. [12]
Being overweight in both areas were
associated with prehypertension,
hypertension and family history of
cardiovascular disease.
In a systematic review of adolescent obesity
in Asia by Mazidi et al,[13] the prevalence of
adolescent obesity was reported to be 8.6%.
For children and adolescents aged 2-19
years in 2017-2020, the prevalence of
obesity among Blacks was 24.8%. [14]
In the Northern part of Nigeria, Ahmad et
al, [15] in 2013, reported that the prevalence
of obesity among adolescents in Sokoto
42
was up to 4.0%. In South-West Nigeria, a
study conducted among new intakes of a
private university, [16] revealed a high
prevalence of metabolic syndrome among
14.3% of obese and overweight adolescents
and young adults, and hypertension was the
highest component of metabolic syndrome
found in the study. In a study done in Benin
City, South-South Nigeria, among urban
school adolescents, overweight prevalence
was 7.7% while that for obesity was 3.1%,
[17]
. A study carried out in Ekiti State,
South-West Nigeria, among adolescent
secondary school students reported that the
mean body mass index, systolic blood
pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and
fasting plasma glucose were significantly
higher in females compared to male
students. [18]
There is significant variation in the age
group used in the available studies on
adolescent obesity, making deductions,
inferences, and generalisations about
adolescent obesity difficult from such
studies. This study therefore sought to
determine the prevalence of obesity and its
correlates in a specific adolescent age group
(14-19 years) typical of new intakes in a
private University, as seen among
undergraduates of a private university in the
South-western Nigeria. The study aimed to
determine the prevalence of obesity,
prevalence of impaired glucose tolerance,
prevalence of pre-
hypertension/hypertension, and to
determine any association between obesity
and age, gender, level of activity, impaired
glucose tolerance and pre-
hypertension/hypertension among the
respondents. The outcome of the study is
believed to suggest common denominators
of obesity in this unique group of people
which may also inform planning for
possible interventions that may be built into
their period of study in the university
environment.
 Alabi et al., 2023: Prevalence and Correlates of Adolescent Obesity Among Young Adults in South-Western Nigeria

2.0 MATERIALS AND METHODS d= standard error or degree of accuracy –

2.1 Study Design 0.05
The study was a cross sectional survey of N = 0.248 x 0.752 x 1.96 x1.96/ 0.05 x
all consenting participants who merited the 0.05= 286.60. This was approximated to
inclusion criteria. Having obtained 300.
approval from the Research Ethics
Committee of the university an informed 2.5 Sampling Technique
consent was obtained from each participant. A systematic sampling technique was used
For participants younger than 18 years, to select the study participants. As a
assent was obtained, and the consent of the minimum of 1500 first year students were
accompanying parent or guardian was expected for resumption, every third
secured. The study was performed ordered eligible and consenting students
according to the Declarations of Helsinki. were recruited.
2.6 Data Collection
2.2 Study Area A self-administered, structured
questionnaire was used to collect data on
The study was carried out at the socio-demographics and level of physical
University’s sport pavilion where fresh activity. The participants also had their
undergraduates were received for their weight, height, waist circumference, blood
medical screening. A full complement of pressure and fasting plasma glucose
medical and support staff including doctors, measured.
nurses, laboratory scientists and Level of physical activity was assessed
Information and Computer Technology using the number of minutes the respondent
personnel were on ground to attend to the routinely performed an
students. intentional/purposeful exercise in a week.
2.3 Study Population The participants who were met fasting (10-
12 hour overnight fast) had their blood
The study was conducted among new taken for fasting plasma glucose. Those
intakes of the university (100 level who were not met fasting were asked to
students) return fasting the following day for their
sample collection which they did. Blood
Inclusion Criteria pressure (BP) readings were taken from the
Consenting students between the ages of 14 participant’s left arm using an automated
to 19 years sphygmomanometer (Omron Medical,
Exclusion Criteria United Kingdom), after being seated for ten
1. Pregnant students minutes. The readings were taken to the
2. Students with acute illness nearest 1mmHg. Any abnormal reading
2.4 Sample Size Determination was repeated twice and the average value
The minimum sample size was determined taken.
using the formula The participants’ weights and heights were
N=pqz2/d2 measured using Gulfex scales (Gulfex
Medical and Scientific, England). Each
N = desired sample size measurement was taken after nulling the
scale to zero reading. The measurements
p= 0.248 (Prevalence of 24.8% was used)
[14] were taken with participants standing
barefooted, in light clothing with pockets
q= 1-p= 0.752 emptied, headgears and excessive hair
ornaments taken off, and their arms hanging
z= standard deviation of 1.96 (corresponds naturally by the sides, while looking
to 95% confidence interval) forwards. The weight readings were taken

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 Alabi et al., 2023: Prevalence and Correlates of Adolescent Obesity Among Young Adults in South-Western Nigeria
to the nearest 0.1kilogram, while the height
readings were taken to the nearest
1centimetre.
As a measure of generalized obesity, the
body mass index (BMI) of all the
respondents were computed by dividing the
weight in kilograms, by the square of the
height in meters (kg/m2).
To determine abdominal obesity,
measurement of the waist circumference
(WC) was taken using a stretch-resistant
tape (HTS, China). The tape rule was
wrapped snugly around the participant at a
level parallel to the floor, midpoint between
the top of the iliac crest and the lower
margin of the last palpable rib in the mid
axillary line. The readings were to the
nearest 1centimetre at the end of expiration.
2.7 Specimen Collection and Analysis
Venous blood was taken from the cubital
fossa of each participant into fluoride
oxalate bottles for glucose assay using
appropriate aseptic procedure. Plasma
glucose was determined by the hexokinase
method.
2.8 Data Analysis
Data was analysed using IBM SPSS
Statistics for Windows version 23.0.
Armonk, NY: IBM Corp, and described
using frequency, percentages, means,
median and standard deviation. Chi-square
test, Student t-test, and correlation analyses
were used as appropriate. The confidence
interval was set at 95%. Statistical
significance was considered at a p-value of
less than 0.05.
Definition of Terms
Obesity was defined as a BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2
in participants ≥ 18 years or BMI greater
than +2 Standard Deviation cut off points
for age and gender using the WHO
Adolescent BMI table (z-scores) in
participants less than 18 years. [19]
Overweight was defined as a BMI 25.00-
29.99 kg/m2 in participants ≥ 18 years old
or BMI between +1 and +2 Standard
Deviation cut off points for age and gender
on WHO Adolescent BMI table (z-scores)
in participants less than 18 years. [19]
44
Ideal BMI was defined as a BMI of 18.50
- 24.99 kg/m2 in participants aged ≥ 18
years or BMI that was between -2 and +1
Standard Deviation cut off points for age
and gender on WHO Adolescent BMI table
(z-scores) in participants less than 18 years.
[19]
Underweight was defined as a BMI of less
than 18.50 kg/m2 among participants aged
>18 years or BMI less than -2 Standard
Deviation cut off points for age and gender
using the WHO Adolescent BMI table (z-
scores) in participants less than 18 years. [19]
Abdominal obesity was defined as a WC ≥
80cm in females or ≥94 cm in male
participants above 16 years of age or WC >
90th percentile for participants aged less
than 16 years. [20]
Diabetes was defined as a fasting plasma
glucose (FPG) of 7.0mmol/l or higher
according to America Diabetes Association
criteria.
Pre-diabetes (Glucose intolerance) was
defined as a fasting plasma glucose
between 5.6mmol/l and 6.9nmmol/l
according to America Diabetes Association
criteria.
Hypertension was defined as average
Systolic BP (SBP) and/or diastolic BP
(DBP) that is >95th percentile for gender,
age, and height on at least 3 occasions [21].
Among participants who were 18 years and
above, hypertension was defined as blood
pressure greater than or equal to 140/90
mmHg. [22]
Pre-hypertension was defined as average
SBP or DBP levels that are >90th percentile
but <95th percentile (or BP levels >120/80
mmHg if this was lower than the 90th
percentile).[21] Among participants who
were 18 years and above, pre-hypertension
was defined as blood pressure greater than
120/80 but less than 140/90 mmHg. [22]
Normal blood pressure was defined as
mean systolic BP and diastolic BP <90th
percentile for age, height and sex[21].
Among participants who were 18 years and
above, normal blood pressure was defined
as blood pressure less than 120/80 mmHg.
[22]
 Alabi et al., 2023: Prevalence and Correlates of Adolescent Obesity Among Young Adults in South-Western Nigeria

3.0 RESULTS age of 17 (16 – 17) years. Majority of them

belonged to the Yoruba ethnic group (120;
There were 300 undergraduates recruited 40.0%). Details are shown in Table 1. There
into this study, 180 (60.0%) were males and were 172 (57.3%) participants who
120 (40.0%) were females. All the engaged in any form of exercise. The
participants were adolescents with age median (IQR) age was 17 (16-17) years.
range of 14 – 19 years and a median (IQR)
Table 1: Demographic Characteristics of Participants
CHARACTERISTICS FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE
N=300 (100%)
Age Group
Middle Adolescents (14 – 16 years) 136 45.3
Late Adolescents (17 – 19 years) 164 54.7
Sex
Female 120 40.0
Male 180 60.0
Ethnic Group
Yoruba 120 40.0
Ibo 73 24.3
Ibibio 15 5.0
Ijaw 13 4.3
Urhobo 12 4.0
Hausa 9 3.0
Religion
Christianity 268 89.3
Islam 32 10.7
Any Exercise?
Yes 172 57.3
No 128 42.7

(Ramnanan & Pound, 2017)(Ramnanan &
Pound, 2017)Table 2 shows that most of the
participants had normal blood pressure
(255; 85.0%), fasting blood glucose (285;
95.0%) and body mass index (191; 63.7%)
readings. There were 34 (11.3%) obese
participants, while 67 (22.3%) and 8 (2.7%)
were in the overweight and underweight
categories respectively. Also, 8 (2.7%)
participants fulfilled the criteria for
hypertension, while 37 (12.3%) had pre-
hypertension. Furthermore, 15 (5.0%)
subjects had impaired blood glucose levels
and none of the participants had fasting
blood glucose readings to suggest diabetes
mellitus. There were 76 (25.3%)
participants with abdominal obesity. As
shown in Table 2, the participants’ BMI
status was significantly associated with
their age groups (p=0.041), sex (p=0.014)
and abdominal obesity (<0.0001).
However, their blood glucose levels, blood
pressure and engaging in any form of
exercise were not significantly associated
with their BMI status. Most of the obese
participants had normal blood glucose (31

45
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 Alabi et al., 2023: Prevalence and Correlates of Adolescent Obesity Among Young Adults in South-Western Nigeria

of 34) and normal blood pressure (28 of 34).
Among the 34 obese patients, 3 had
impaired blood glucose, 4 had
prehypertension and only 2 had
hypertension. Similarly, among the 67
overweight participants, only 2 had
impaired blood glucose, 13 had pre-
hypertension and 3 had hypertension. All
the 8 (2.7%) underweight participants were
late adolescents, and six of these
underweight participants were females.
Table 2: Association between participants’ BMI status and age group, gender, exercise, fasting blood
glucose, blood pressure measurements and abdominal obesity
None of the underweight participants had
abdominal obesity, whereas the obese
participants accounted for majority of the
participants with abdominal obesity. A
statistically significantly higher number of
the overweight participants were late
adolescents (40; 25.6%) or males (47;
26.1%). There was an equal age group
distribution among the obese participants,
but the number of obese females were
slightly higher than the obese males.

CHARACTERISTICS BMI
Underweight Normal Overweight Obese Total P-value
Total (%) 8 (2.7) 191 (63.7) 67 (22.3) 34 (11.3) 300
Age Group (%)
Middle Adolescents (14- 0 (0.0) 92 (67.6) 27 (19.9) 17 (12.5) 136
16)
Late Adolescents (17-19) 8 (4.9) 99 (60.4) 40 (25.6) 17 (10.4) 164 0.041
Sex (%)
Female 6 (5.0) 75 (62.5) 20 (16.7) 19 (15.8) 120
Male 2 (1.1) 116 (64.4) 47 (26.1) 15 (8.3) 180 0.014
Any exercise? (%)
Yes 2 (1.2) 111 (64.5) 39 (22.7) 20 (11.6) 172
No 6 (4.7) 80 (62.5) 28 (21.9) 14 (10.9) 128 0.318
Glucose Status (%)
Normal 8 (2.8) 181 (63.5) 65 (22.8) 31 (10.9) 285
Impaired 0 (0.0) 10 (66.7) 2 (13.3) 3 (20.0) 15 0.560
Blood Pressure Status (%)
Normal 7 (2.8) 169 (66.3) 51 (20.0) 28 (11.0) 255
Pre-Hypertension 0 (0.0) 20 (54.1) 13 (35.1) 4 (10.8) 37
Hypertension 1 (12.5) 2 (25.0) 3 (37.5) 2 (25.0) 8 0.060
Abdominal Obesity (%)
Yes 0 (0.0) 15 (19.7) 29 (38.2) 32 (42.1) 76
No 8 (3.6) 176 (78.6) 38 (17.0) 2 (0.9) 224 <0.0001

Table 3 shows that most of the overweight
participants (39 of 67) and obese
participants (20 of 34) were engaged in at
least one type of exercise. There were very
few obese participants that took up jogging
as an exercise, and none of them engaged in
walking or running. These findings were
however not statistically significant (Table
3). On the other hand, none of the
hypertensive participants engaged in any
form of exercise, this was a significant
finding (Table 3). All those who walked or

42
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 Alabi et al., 2023: Prevalence and Correlates of Adolescent Obesity Among Young Adults in South-Western Nigeria

ran had normal blood pressure readings
while only one of those whose exercise
included jogging had pre-HTN (p=0.005).
The median (IQR) duration of exercise
among the 172 (57.3%) participants were
30 (20 – 60) minutes per day, 3 (3 – 5) days
per week and 120 (60 – 232.5) minutes per
week. The duration ranged from 2 to 180
minutes per day, once a week to daily and 3
to 840 minutes per week. Nevertheless, the
duration of exercise was not significantly
related to BMI status.

Table 3: Association between exercise, obesity and hypertension (HTN)

PARAMETERS OBESITY HTN STATUS
Yes No Total P- Normal Pre-htn Htn Total P-value
value
Total (%) 34 266 300 255 (85.0) 37 (12.3) 8 (2.7) 300
(11.3) (88.7)
Any exercise (%)
Yes 20 152 172 166 (96.5) 6 (3.5) 0 (0.0) 172
(11.6) (88.4)
No 14 114 128 0.852 89 (69.5) 31 (24.2) 8 (6.3) 128 <0.0001
(10.9) (89.1)
Walking (%)
Yes 0 (0.0) 7 7 7 (100.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 7
(100.0)
No 34 259 293 1.000* 248 (84.6) 37 (12.6) 8 (2.7) 293 0.531
(11.6) (88.4)
Jogging (%)
Yes 6 54 60 59 (98.3) 1 (1.7) 0 (0.0) 60
(10.0) (90.0)
No 28 212 240 0.823* 196 (81.7) 36 (15.0) 8 (3.3) 240 0.005
(11.7) (88.3)
Running (%)
Yes 0 (0.0) 14 14 14 (100.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 14
(100.0)
No 34 252 286 0.381* 241 (84.3) 37 (12.9) 8 (2.8) 286 0.274
(11.9) (88.1)
*: Fisher’s Exact Test HTN: Hypertension
As shown in Table 4, the median (IQR) diastolic blood pressure and waist circumference and
mean (SD) fasting blood glucose measurements of the obese participants were statistically
significantly higher than those of participants that were not obese.

47
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 Alabi et al., 2023: Prevalence and Correlates of Adolescent Obesity Among Young Adults in South-Western Nigeria

Table 4: Comparison of blood pressure, blood glucose and waist circumference

measurements between obese and non-obese participants
CHARACTERISTICS OBESE
MEDIAN (IQR)
Yes (n=34) No (n=266) P-value
Systolic Blood Pressure 120.0 (110.0 – 114.0 (108.8 – 0.341
(mmHg) 120.0) 120.0)
Diastolic Blood Pressure 70.0 (65.5 – 77.3) 66.5 (60.0 – 72.3) 0.030
(mmHg)
Waist Circumference (cm) 101.0 (95.0 – 109.0) 76.0 (72.0 – 83.0) <0.0001
Mean (sd)
Yes (n=34) No (n=266) Mean diff P-value
(sd)
Fasting Blood Glucose 4.82 (0.48) 4.58 (0.53) 0.24 (0.10) 0.013
(mmol/L)

Figure 1 shows that the waist circumference (WC) of the participants had strong positive
correlation with their BMI, such that their BMI = 0.42WC – 9.63 (R=0.902; R2=0.813;
p<0.0001). See Figure 1 for the linear regression graph.

Figure 1: Linear regression between BMI and Waist Circumference

4.0 DISCUSSION admitted to the first level at a private

university in Southwest Nigeria. This
This study set out to assess the percentage study’s prevalence of 11.0% obesity and
of obesity, hypertension, impaired blood 22.3% overweight were much lesser than
glucose among new undergraduates

48
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 Alabi et al., 2023: Prevalence and Correlates of Adolescent Obesity Among Young Adults in South-Western Nigeria
the reports of average prevalence of 33.7%
obesity and 23.6% overweight among first-
year Nigerian undergraduates by Ukegbu et
al, [23] in 2017 but similar to the findings of
Makkawy et al, [24] in 2021, who observed
overweight and obesity among 11.2% and
23.7% respectively among medical and
dental students in Saudi Arabia. A more
recent Nigerian study by Sedodo et al, [25]
reported a far lesser prevalence of obesity
of 0.7% among undergraduates in 2020.
This reflects increased awareness of obesity
and lifestyle modification, compared to half
a decade ago.
The prevalence of hypertension (2.7%) and
impaired blood glucose (5.0%) were also
very low, and none of the participants had
diabetes mellitus. These results are far less
than the reports by Abiodun et al, [26] and
Sedodo et al, [25], who reported 25%
prevalence of hypertension and 11%
prevalence of impaired blood glucose
among Nigerian undergraduates in 2019
and 2020 respectively. There is still a need
for active surveillance to keep the
prevalence of these diseases at the barest
minimum.
This study also observed that there were
very few obese or overweight participants
that had hypertension or impaired blood
glucose, even though, the obese participants
had significantly higher diastolic blood
pressure and fasting blood glucose than
those that were not obese. This suggests
that obese undergraduates may develop
hypertension quicker than the others as
observed by Ukegbu et al, [23] or diabetes
mellitus as reported by Chaudhari et al, [27]
who reported a higher tendency for obese
patients to be diabetic with their
observation of higher levels of HbA1c
among obese Indian medical students. A
study limitation was the lack of information
regarding the use of antihypertensives or
antidiabetics among this study’s
participants, which may be responsible for
the low prevalence of hypertension or
impaired blood glucose observed.
Notwithstanding, obese undergraduates
49
42
require close monitoring and prompt
intervention as necessary.
More than half of the participants claimed
to have engaged in at least, one type of
exercise, including the overweight and
obese participants. Engaging in exercise
and the duration of exercises were not
significantly associated with the
participants’ BMI status in this study; this
was a similar finding by Ukegbu et al. [23]
Several factors could have influenced the
observations regarding the participants’
activities, this includes response bias,
where the participants could have falsely
indicated that they engaged in exercises.
Another factor is the time these exercises
began, as it is expected that BMI should
reduce with earlier commencement of
regular exercises. One of this study’s
limitations was that there was no
information regarding whether the
participants engaged in exercises as
medical interventions for their already high
BMI.
Nevertheless, a clinically yet statistically
significant finding in this study was that
participants who engaged in exercises,
especially jogging did not have
hypertension and negligible number had
prehypertension. Similarly, none of those
who regularly walked or ran had either pre-
hypertension or hypertension. It is thus
recommended that distances between
undergraduates’ hostels and their
classrooms should encourage regular
walking, jogging or occasional running to
maintain normal blood pressure
measurements. There is a need for
longitudinal studies that will take the
foregoing into cognizance, to monitor the
effects of exercises on BMI, BP and blood
glucose levels of Nigerian undergraduates.
The median duration of exercise among this
study’s participants was 30 minutes per
day, and half of the daily physical activity
recommended for adolescents by Yun Jun
Yang, [28] although the participants met the
recommended duration of 3 days of
 Alabi et al., 2023: Prevalence and Correlates of Adolescent Obesity Among Young Adults in South-Western Nigeria
exercise per week. [28] Yang also suggested
that substantial health benefits are
associated with weekly exercise of at least
150–300minutes/week, this study however,
observed that a median weekly exercise of
up to 120minutes per week was sufficient to
maintain normal blood pressure of more
than half of the participants.
As expected, abdominal obesity and waist
circumference (WC) were significantly
associated with obesity. This study
observed a very strong positive correlation
between WC and BMI as observed by
previous studies, some have even submitted
that these parameters are associated with
the health status of the body especially the
cardiovascular system. [29–31] This implies
that waist circumference measurement may
serve as proxy for BMI whenever weighing
scales are out of the immediate reach, and
in some instances, may provide more useful
information than BMI regarding atrial
fibrillation in men as submitted by
Poorthuis et al. [31] There is a need to
standardize this inference for easy use
among this group of individuals.
The male participants weighed more, were
taller and had higher BMI than females,
similar to the findings of Makkawy et al, [24]
but contrary to the findings of Ukegbu et al,
[23]
and Abiodun et al. [26] The explanation
for this observation is not clear and could
be complex and multifactorial, genetic or
environmental as inferred by Makkawy et
al. [24] Some of the environmental factors
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2. Steinbeck KS, Lister NB, Gow ML, Baur
LA. Treatment of adolescent obesity. Nat
Rev Endocrinol 2018;14(6):331–44.
3. Kansra AR, Lakkunarajah S, Jay MS.
Childhood and Adolescent Obesity: A
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for higher BMI among males may include a
higher tendency for alcohol consumption,
sedentary lifestyle with longer time spent
on the internet, [8,23,32] among others. There
is a need to explore these among
undergraduates with similar
sociodemographic characteristics.
Underweight participants were very few,
they were all late adolescents and mostly
females.
5.0 CONCLUSION
In this study, the prevalence of obesity was
11.3%, while that of impaired glucose
tolerance, prehypertension and
hypertension were 5%, 12.3% and 2.7%
respectively. Although the blood glucose
levels, blood pressure and engaging in any
form of exercise were not significantly
associated with BMI status, the obese
participants had significantly higher
diastolic blood pressure and fasting blood
glucose levels than those who were not
obese. Also, participants who engaged in
exercises, especially jogging did not have
hypertension and negligible number had
prehypertension. Similarly, none of those
who regularly walked or ran had either pre-
hypertension or hypertension.
It is thus recommended that distances
between undergraduates’ hostels and their
classrooms should encourage regular
walking, jogging or occasional running to
maintain normal blood pressure
measurements and deter obesity.
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