Abstract
(1) Background: Few studies have investigated (demographic) correlates of (prevalent) overweight rates among early adolescents, especially from higher socioeconomic positions (SEP) in developing countries, such as Indonesia. The current study aims to fill this gap. (2) Methods: Participants included 411 adolescents from five private schools in Indonesia. Adolescents’ weight and height were measured, and adolescents completed questionnaires on demographic factors (i.e., sex, school area, ethnicity, pocket money) and previous year dieting. (3) Results: Results showed that more than one-third of the sample was overweight, with higher rates among adolescent males (47%) than females (24%). Moreover, adolescents attending schools in urban areas (compared with suburban areas), and those reporting past dieting (compared with those reporting no dieting) had higher overweight rates. Ethnicity and the amount of pocket money were not related to overweight status. Finally, a clear sex-specific interaction was found involving school area, showing that males in urban areas had a significantly higher risk to be overweight, whereas this did not apply to females. (4) Conclusions: males from urban area private schools in Indonesia may be an important target group for future preventive overweight interventions.
Highlights
The prevalence of obese and overweight individuals has continued to increase over the past years, in developing countries, such as Indonesia [1–3]
In contrast to Western countries, obesity is positively related to socioeconomic position (SEP) in many developing countries [4–6], meaning that being overweight is more prevalent among adults and adolescents with higher SEP
The current study aimed to examine the demographic and dieting factors that potentially explain overweight status among a relatively large group of Indonesian early adolescents attending private schools
Summary
The prevalence of obese and overweight individuals has continued to increase over the past years, in developing countries, such as Indonesia [1–3]. In contrast to Western countries, obesity is positively related to socioeconomic position (SEP) in many developing countries [4–6], meaning that being overweight is more prevalent among adults and adolescents with higher SEP. Studies have suggested that in developing nations, people with a higher SEP, compared with lower SEP, have easier access to junk food or calorie-dense foods, which may explain the higher overweight rates, in these groups [5,6]. Among children, the prevalence of overweight was higher in boys compared with girls [4] These (review) results suggest some shifting sex-specific patterns during early adolescence regarding the prevalence of overweight status. The current study has a specific focus on early adolescence, a critical stage where (gender-specific) lifestyle choices change, for example, because of the availability of energy-dense (junk) food and increasing peer influences in (changing) school environments [9,11,12], with the highest possible impact among adolescents at private schools [4]
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