Comparison of adolescent body mass index in the Ouarzazate region (southern Morocco) with international references

ANZID, KARIM; MONTERO, PILAR; RODRÍGUEZ LÓPEZ, SANTIAGO; MORA, ANA; CHERKAOUI, MOHAMED

Marrakesh

Congreso; 7th African Nutritional Epidemiology Conference; 2016

African Nutrition Society

The present study evaluated and compared the distribution of BMI by age in adolescents in the region of Ouarzazate in southern Morocco with international references. A random sample of 407 secondary school pupils aged 14 to 19 years. Recruited from the five public secondary schools in the Ouarzazate area (southern Morocco). Based on BMI-for-age and sex-specific z-score, BMI presented average z score is less than the reference values of the WHO. 7.8% of the adolescent males and 3.1% of females were underweight (BMI-for-age < -2 z-score), 8.6% of the adolescent males and female were overweight (BMI-for- age > +1 z-score) and only 1% adolescents were obese (BMI-for-age ≥ +2 z-score). No significant gender differences were seen in these prevalences. Based on BMI-for-age percentile curves, the Moroccan (Ouarzazate) median BMI curve does not differ in shape from the WHO, USA and UK reference curves. However the Moroccan adolescents were less fat than their international counterparts. In our Moroccan sample, underweight coexists with overweight and obesity, as in other countries undergoing nutritional transition. The observed deviations from the international reference curves do not necessarily indicate either excessive or inadequate body fat on an individual level. BMI is an inexpensive and easy-to-perform method of screening for weight categories that may lead to health problems. BMI doesn?t measure body fat directly, but research has shown that BMI correlates with direct measures of body fat, such as underwater weighing and dual energy x-ray absorptiometry. Underweight, overweight and obese pupils tend to abstain from participating in the survey, since they know they will be weighed. This is a potential source of bias. Indeed, the recruitment of these pupils would have contributed to a more accurate estimation of nutritional status. To provide a more complete overview of the nutritional situation in Morocco, it is necessary to extend the study to other regions and to link the data with other indicators. These assessments might include dietary records, data on physical activity, family history and relevant health screening procedures.