The association between body mass index and lifestyle factors in a sample of Moroccan children

Abstract

Obesity presents a health problem all over the world. The present study was undertaken to examine the impact of socio-demographic characteristics, lifestyle factors on obesity status in Moroccan school-aged children. An epidemiological cross-sectional study was carried out among 3684 scholar children randomly recruited from Draa Tafilalet region, Morocco. The age of school children ranged from 5 to 15 years, with 90.3% of participants aged between 5 and 12 years. Body mass index (BMI), lifestyle factors were determined using an assisted questionnaire. There is no statistically significant difference in the body mass index (BMI) of girls and boys. The occupation and level of education of parents have no effect on the body posture of scholars. The prevalence of obesity and overweight seems to be markedly higher in urban children than rural children (2.38% vs. 1.09% and 13.25% vs. 6.76% respectively, χ²=49.77, p < 0.001). As expected, a strong relationship has been detected between physical activity, time spent on screens and BMI (χ²=333,3; p = 0.000, χ²=227.507; p < 0.001 respectively). Inactive children who spent more than 3 h per day on screens were more likely to develop overweight and obesity. There was a significant association between fast food consumption and BMI (χ²=164.509; p = 0.006). Overweight and obesity were highly prevalent and associated with unhealthy lifestyle behaviors, particularly physical inactivity and frequent fast-food consumption. Children living in urban areas were more likely to develop obesity than those from rural areas, highlighting the importance of targeted school-based preventive interventions.