The Frequency of Fast Food Consumption in Relation to Wheeze and Asthma Among Adolescents in Gauteng and North West Provinces, South Africa.

Vusumuzi Nkosi,Kuku Voyi,Funzani Rathogwa-Takalani

doi:10.3390/ijerph17061994

Abstract

The prevalence of asthma and allergic diseases have been on the rise, especially in developing countries due to life-style changes. The study aimed to investigate the association between the frequency of fast food consumption with wheeze and asthma among adolescents. A previously validated self-completed questionnaire from the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood was used to collect information on demographics, socioeconomic status, house characteristics, adolescent respiratory health and diet. The prevalence of wheeze was 38.2% and of asthma was 16.37% among the adolescents. The results from the adjusted regression analyses indicated that eating fast foods three or more times per week was a statistically significant risk factor for wheeze (OR = 1.60; 95% CI: 1.26–2.03) and asthma (OR = 1.37; 95% CI: 1.04–1.91). The study found an association between eating fast foods three or more times per week and wheeze and asthma among adolescents in South Africa. Unhealthy diet plays a crucial role in respiratory health among adolescents; healthy eating habits are encouraged to reduce the burden of respiratory symptoms and diseases.

Highlights

Over recent decades, the prevalence of asthma and allergic diseases has adequately increased to pose a public health concern [1,2,3]
We investigated the frequency of fast food consumption in relation to asthma and wheeze using data collected from Gauteng and
The majority (83.72%) of the study participants resided in houses that were made of bricks and the main (82.67%) residential fuel type used for cooking and heating the house was electricity

Summary

Introduction

The prevalence of asthma and allergic diseases has adequately increased to pose a public health concern [1,2,3]. The results of this study are consistent with those of other studies, those conducted in the UK and the USA, that showed a high proportion of fast food consumption amongst adolescents [8,9,10]. Another study highlighted an unexpectedly high prevalence of fast food consumption in other developing countries, including those in Asia and Western Europe. Studies have shown that people living in developed countries have adopted a Westernized lifestyle [2]. This is a diet that mainly consists of fast foods and is rich in processed foods, fats and sugar

Methods

Results

Conclusion