Adolescents’ food habits and nutritional status in urban and rural areas in Cameroon, Africa

Abstract

Background: Food intake in Cameroon is based on three meals daily. The diet in rural areas is based on traditional staple foods, while that of the urban population incorporates more modern foods. The health and nutrition of adolescents is important as their eating behaviour and nutrition will affect their future health. Objective: To describe and compare food habits and nutritional status of adolescents in Cameroon. Design: A cross-sectional study using an unquantified food frequency questionnaire and anthropometric data, in urban and rural areas. Fifty-two adolescents, 12-15 years old, were selected from schools. Results: Frequencies of consumption of meat, vegetables, cereals, milk products and junk food were significantly higher in urban than in rural adolescents (11.8 vs 4.5, 9.5 vs 3.9, 16.5 vs 11.9, 5.7 vs 0.8, 24.2 vs 8.7, respectively). The frequency of in-between meals was higher in urban than in rural adolescents (4.9 vs 0.9, respectively). Arm muscle ar
ea (AMA, mm2) and waist/hip ratio were significantly higher in rural than in urban adolescents (3554 vs 2802 and 0.82 vs 0.79, respectively). Body mass index (BMI, kg m-2) was higher in rural than urban adolescents, although not significant (20.6 vs 19.4, respectively). There was a positive significant correlation between BMI and AMA in urban and rural areas (r=0.67 and r=0. 72, respectively). Conclusions: Despite a lower frequency of food consumption, rural adolescents had higher AMA and waist/ hip ratio than urban adolescents. Less junk food and more traditional food consumption, more manual activities and walking in rural adolescents could explain these results. Keywords: Adolescents; arm muscle area; body mass index; Cameroon; food frequency; waist/hip