Irene FOTANG1
1Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Yaoundé I.
CaHReF 2018, Yaoundé Congres hall, 08 – 11 January 2019 , OSME043
Background: Obesity is a complex metabolic disorder due to chronic accumulation of fat in the adipose tissue. Infant obesity is one of the most serious health problems of the 21st century, owing to its multifocal origins, rapidly increasing prevalence and complications in adulthood.
Objectif: Determine the prevalence and associated risk factors of obesity in infants 6 to 24 months.
Methodology: We conducted an analytic cross sectional study from November 2017 to May 2018, at the vaccination unit of the Mother and Child Center of the Chantal Biya Foundation. Mother-infant pairs were consecutively sampled. Infants within the age group 6 to 24 months were recruited. Those with skeletal deformities or genetic diseases were excluded. We used a questionnaire to collect information on the sociodemographic characteristics of the infants and their mothers. The anthropometric parameters of the infants were measured and analyzed using WHO standard as baseline. Logistic regression was used to determine the associated risk factors.
Results: We had in total 310 infants with a sex ratio of 1.26 in favour of males. The median age of included infants was 9 months. The age group 6 to 12 months was the most affected. The birth weight ranged from 2030g to 6300. The prevalence of of obesity was 3.9%. The risk factors associated with obesity were: feeding in the first hour of life with artificial milk [OR 7.74(2.20-27.28) and <0.001], early diversification with a combination of solid and liquid food [OR 27.75(1.72-446.43) and <0.019] and maternal weight gain during pregnancy > 10kg [OR 1.05].
Conclusion/Recommandation: The prevalence of obesity was 3.9%. The associated risk factors were: maternal weight gain in pregnancy > 10 kg, feeding with artificial milk in first hour of life and diversification with a combination of solid and liquid foods. We recommend to the ministry of family planning and the family, to teach women on the importance of appropriate weight gain in pregnancy and exclusive breast feeding for the first 6 months of life, especially first hour.
Key Words: Infant-obesity, prevalence, risk factors