Study of childhood overweight in sub-Saharan Africa

Non-communicable diseases are the leading cause of death in the world. Globally (and increasingly in sub-Saharan Africa) there is an increase in the rates of several NCDs such as hypertension, dyslipidemia and type 2 diabetes with the epidemic of childhood overweight/obesity. However, overweight and its co-morbidities in urban and semi-urban children and adolescents in Cameroon remain poorly studied and underestimated. We have shown that overweight is more frequent in urban areas in Cameroon. It is slightly less common in semi-urban areas where it is mostly associated with cardiometabolic abnormalities in adolescents. Further studies should focus specifically on the adult fate of these serious comorbidities already present during childhood in these two study settings.