Impact of Socioeconomic Factors and Lifestyle on Prevalence of Obesity among High School Students in the City of Settat

Objective: To determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity in schools, as well as the lifestyle and socioeconomic factors that influence them. Methods: We conducted a survey on a sample of 1237 students aged 12 to 19 years and studying in public and private high schools in the city of Settat. The excess weight of students was assessed by body mass index –BMI-, and the references used are those of french curves (BMI above the 97thpercentile). Results: The total number of students was 1237 with 644 as girls and 593 boys. The average age was 14.3 years (14.5 years for boys and 14.2 years for girls). The percentage of obese teenage students in the city of Settat is 13.74%. There is a clear difference between the public and the private sectors. In fact, obesity is recorded at 9.85% in public sector schools against 23.07% in private ones. The predominance of obesity girls is statistically significant; 15.06% for girls against 12,31% for boys. Conclusion: The prevalence of overweight and obesity in Morocco is low, yet it does exist. Monitoring, prevention and the introduction of response measures are necessary to prevent its future proliferation as happened in developed countries.