Abstract:
Background: In Sub-Saharan Africa, most nutrition efforts have concentrated on under-nutrition in children. However,
national surveys rarely report the high prevalence of overweight and obesity among children. Likewise, in Ethiopia
there is growing recognition of the emergence of a “double-burden” of malnutrition, with under and over nutrition
occurring simultaneously among children, especially allied with improvements in socio-economic conditions. Hence,
the study aimed to assess the prevalence and factors associated with overweight and obesity among private kindergarten
school children aged 3–6 years in Bahirdar town, Northwest Ethiopia.
Methods: A school-based cross sectional study was conducted in Bahirdar Town, northwest Ethiopia from August to
September, 2015. Anthropometric measurements such as weight and height were taken from 462 private Kindergarten
preschool children aged 3–6 years; socio-economic and demographic factors and feeding practices were collected
by interviewing the, mothers or caregivers of the children. The z-score values for BMI-for-age of children were
generated using Emergency Nutrition Assessment (ENA) for Standardized Monitoring and Assessment of Relief Transitions
(SMART) 2011. Binary logistic regression model was used to identify factors associated with overweight and obesity
in children. Odds ratio with 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated to show the strength of association.
Results: The overall prevalence of overweight and obesity was 6.9% [95% CI 2.4, 11.4]. The prevalence of overweight
and obesity were 4.1 and 2.8%, respectively. The odds of overweight and obesity was higher among children with
high dietary diversity score (DDS) [AOR = 5.12, 95% CI 1.42, 18.47], family size of less than five [AOR = 4.76, 95% CI
1.84, 12.31] and a family having a private car [AOR = 3.43, 95% CI 1.02, 11.49].
Conclusions: The prevalence of overweight and obesity among private kindergarten preschool children in the study
area was high. Interventions on improving feeding practice and doing physical activities are important for the control
of overweight and obesity among children in urban settings
