Burden of overweight and obesity among adolescents in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract Background Overweight and obesity continue to escalate, despite the regulations and interventions that have been put in place. To support further policy directions, it is necessary to have pooled data that illustrate the burden of overweight and obesity among adolescents nowadays. Thus, this systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to determine the burden of overweight and obesity among Ethiopian adolescents. Methods Embase, Science Direct, Medline, PubMed, Google Scholar and Web of Science were the databases used in the search for publications that ran from inception until 25 October 2023. STATA version 18 was used to analyze data on overweight and obesity in adolescents. Using the random effect model, the pooled estimates with 95% CIs were calculated. Using the Galbraith plot, I2 statistics and Cochrane Q statistics, heterogeneity was investigated. Results In total, 20145 adolescents aged 10–19 years were included in this meta-analysis study. The pooled prevalence of overweight and obesity among adolescents in Ethiopia was 10% (95% CI 9 to 12%; I2=94.03%). There was a substantial correlation between being female (OR=1.81, 95% CI 1.47 to 2.15), attending private schools (OR=1.78, 95% CI 1.31 to 2.26), having a family size of ≥4 (OR=1.86, 95% CI 1.14 to 2.58) and being of middle economic status (OR=1.62, 95% CI 1.14 to 2.10). Conclusions In Ethiopia, one in 10 adolescents is overweight/obese. The study's findings clearly show that a large number of adolescents are dealing with this emerging public health issue. Moreover, characteristics related to physical activity, nutrition and sociodemographics were discovered to be associated with overweight and obesity. To lessen the burden of overweight and obesity, the government and other parties should work together to support gender-specific nutritional interventions, encourage healthy lifestyle choices among teenagers and facilitate these efforts.