Dietary Habits and Age at Menarche in Relation to Body Weight among Preparatory School Girls in Alexandria

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Nutrition Department, High Institute of Public Health, Alexandria University, Egypt

2 Health Administration and Behavioral Sciences Department, High Institute of Public Health, Alexandria University, Egypt

3 Family Health Department, High Institute of Public Health, Alexandria University, Egypt

4 Tropical Health Department, High Institute of Public Health, Alexandria University, Egypt

Abstract

Background: Overweight and obesity are a public health crisis among adolescents worldwide. Adolescence is a crucial period for learning and adopting healthy eating and lifestyle habits that persist into adulthood. Obesity in childhood is linked to early menarche which places the adolescent girl in high risk of developing metabolic diseases as Type 2 DM and cardiovascular diseases and hormone related cancer as breast and endometrial cancer.
Objective(s):  The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of overweight and obesity in preparatory school girls in Alexandria and to examine their relation to dietary habits and age at menarche.
Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted. A total of 730 preparatory school girls from 4 governmental schools were chosen using stratified random sampling. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect demographic data, dietary habits, physical activity status and menstrual history. Anthropometric measurements were taken (weight, height, waist circumference, BMI) and percentiles were compared to CDC growth charts.
Results: In the present study, the prevalence of overweight in preparatory school girls was 14.7%, while that of obesity was 34.7% according to CDC charts. The prevalence of abdominal obesity was 24.7%. The prevalence of overweight/obesity was lower in girls whose mothers were working. Almost half (47.9 %) of girls who scored poor in the dietary habits questionnaire were obese, compared to 38% who had normal body weight. Dietary habits that were associated with obesity were eating meals away from home and consuming 2-3 loafs of “balady” bread daily. As for the age at menarche 51.9% of those who started menstruating before the age of 12 years were obese compared to 35.5% of girls who started menses after the age of 12 and this was statistically significant (p=0.004). Age at menarche was negatively correlated with BMI.
Conclusion and recommendations: About one third of preparatory governmental school girls were obese. This was negatively associated with the age at menarche. Dietary habits that were significantly associated with overweight/obesity included eating away from home and increased consumption of bread. These habits should be the targets for school based nutrition education campaigns.

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