This cross-sectional study assessed the prevalence of stunting, thinness, and overweight/obesity among school adolescents in Toumodi, Côte d'Ivoire. It also identified their sociodemographic and familial determinants. The sample included 253 adolescents (53.0% male; mean age 13.8 ± 1.5 years) enrolled in Grade 6 and Grade 7 of public secondary schools. Height and weight were converted into body-mass-index-for-age (BAZ) and height-for-age (HAZ) Z-scores, using World Health Organization growth references. Stunting was defined as HAZ below -2, thinness as BAZ below -2, and overweight/obesity as BAZ above +1. Associations with sex, age, area of residence, living companions, family size, and parental education were assessed. Chi-square tests and multivariable logistic regression were used. Stunting affected 40.1% of children (95% confidence interval [CI] 34.0-46.1%). Thinness affected 8.4% (95% CI 5.0-11.8%), and overweight/obesity affected 21.2% (95% CI 16.1-26.3%), confirming a triple burden of malnutrition. Concurrent stunting and thinness affected 4.0% of children. Stunting prevalence increased sharply with age, from 17.0% among 10-12-year-olds to 63.3% among 16-18-year-olds. It was independently associated with older age (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.57 per year, 95% CI 1.28-1.93) and male sex (aOR 1.79, 95% CI 1.02-3.13). Overweight/obesity was independently associated with younger age (aOR 0.72 per year, 95% CI 0.57-0.91). No sociodemographic or familial variable was significantly associated with thinness. Family size and parental education were not significantly associated with any of the three nutritional outcomes. These findings confirm a substantial triple burden of malnutrition, dominated by stunting, among adolescents in Toumodi. Age and sex, rather than family size or parental education, emerged as the main sociodemographic determinants. The results support the need for age- and sex-targeted nutritional interventions. They also reinforce the importance of extending nutrition surveillance beyond early childhood to explicitly include adolescents in West African school-age populations.
| Published in | Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences (Volume 14, Issue 5) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.jfns.20261405.20 |
| Page(s) | 365-374 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2026. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Stunting, Thinness, Overweight, Triple Burden of Malnutrition, Adolescents, Determinants, Côte d'Ivoire, Sub-Saharan Africa
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APA Style
Diallo, K., Georgette, K. A., Sylvère, Z. K. Y. A., d'Avila, B. A. T., Yao, A. R., et al. (2026). Triple Burden of Malnutrition and Its Sociodemographic Determinants Among School Adolescents in Toumodi, Côte d'Ivoire. Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences, 14(5), 365-374. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jfns.20261405.20
ACS Style
Diallo, K.; Georgette, K. A.; Sylvère, Z. K. Y. A.; d'Avila, B. A. T.; Yao, A. R., et al. Triple Burden of Malnutrition and Its Sociodemographic Determinants Among School Adolescents in Toumodi, Côte d'Ivoire. J. Food Nutr. Sci. 2026, 14(5), 365-374. doi: 10.11648/j.jfns.20261405.20
@article{10.11648/j.jfns.20261405.20,
author = {Koffi Diallo and Konan Amoin Georgette and Zahé Kollet Yao Aimé Sylvère and Bini Adamou Thérèse d'Avila and Assa Rebecca Yao and Soro Doudjo and Assidjo Nogbou Emmanuel},
title = {Triple Burden of Malnutrition and Its Sociodemographic Determinants Among School Adolescents in Toumodi, Côte d'Ivoire},
journal = {Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences},
volume = {14},
number = {5},
pages = {365-374},
doi = {10.11648/j.jfns.20261405.20},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jfns.20261405.20},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.jfns.20261405.20},
abstract = {This cross-sectional study assessed the prevalence of stunting, thinness, and overweight/obesity among school adolescents in Toumodi, Côte d'Ivoire. It also identified their sociodemographic and familial determinants. The sample included 253 adolescents (53.0% male; mean age 13.8 ± 1.5 years) enrolled in Grade 6 and Grade 7 of public secondary schools. Height and weight were converted into body-mass-index-for-age (BAZ) and height-for-age (HAZ) Z-scores, using World Health Organization growth references. Stunting was defined as HAZ below -2, thinness as BAZ below -2, and overweight/obesity as BAZ above +1. Associations with sex, age, area of residence, living companions, family size, and parental education were assessed. Chi-square tests and multivariable logistic regression were used. Stunting affected 40.1% of children (95% confidence interval [CI] 34.0-46.1%). Thinness affected 8.4% (95% CI 5.0-11.8%), and overweight/obesity affected 21.2% (95% CI 16.1-26.3%), confirming a triple burden of malnutrition. Concurrent stunting and thinness affected 4.0% of children. Stunting prevalence increased sharply with age, from 17.0% among 10-12-year-olds to 63.3% among 16-18-year-olds. It was independently associated with older age (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.57 per year, 95% CI 1.28-1.93) and male sex (aOR 1.79, 95% CI 1.02-3.13). Overweight/obesity was independently associated with younger age (aOR 0.72 per year, 95% CI 0.57-0.91). No sociodemographic or familial variable was significantly associated with thinness. Family size and parental education were not significantly associated with any of the three nutritional outcomes. These findings confirm a substantial triple burden of malnutrition, dominated by stunting, among adolescents in Toumodi. Age and sex, rather than family size or parental education, emerged as the main sociodemographic determinants. The results support the need for age- and sex-targeted nutritional interventions. They also reinforce the importance of extending nutrition surveillance beyond early childhood to explicitly include adolescents in West African school-age populations.},
year = {2026}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Triple Burden of Malnutrition and Its Sociodemographic Determinants Among School Adolescents in Toumodi, Côte d'Ivoire AU - Koffi Diallo AU - Konan Amoin Georgette AU - Zahé Kollet Yao Aimé Sylvère AU - Bini Adamou Thérèse d'Avila AU - Assa Rebecca Yao AU - Soro Doudjo AU - Assidjo Nogbou Emmanuel Y1 - 2026/10/23 PY - 2026 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jfns.20261405.20 DO - 10.11648/j.jfns.20261405.20 T2 - Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences JF - Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences JO - Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences SP - 365 EP - 374 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2330-7293 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jfns.20261405.20 AB - This cross-sectional study assessed the prevalence of stunting, thinness, and overweight/obesity among school adolescents in Toumodi, Côte d'Ivoire. It also identified their sociodemographic and familial determinants. The sample included 253 adolescents (53.0% male; mean age 13.8 ± 1.5 years) enrolled in Grade 6 and Grade 7 of public secondary schools. Height and weight were converted into body-mass-index-for-age (BAZ) and height-for-age (HAZ) Z-scores, using World Health Organization growth references. Stunting was defined as HAZ below -2, thinness as BAZ below -2, and overweight/obesity as BAZ above +1. Associations with sex, age, area of residence, living companions, family size, and parental education were assessed. Chi-square tests and multivariable logistic regression were used. Stunting affected 40.1% of children (95% confidence interval [CI] 34.0-46.1%). Thinness affected 8.4% (95% CI 5.0-11.8%), and overweight/obesity affected 21.2% (95% CI 16.1-26.3%), confirming a triple burden of malnutrition. Concurrent stunting and thinness affected 4.0% of children. Stunting prevalence increased sharply with age, from 17.0% among 10-12-year-olds to 63.3% among 16-18-year-olds. It was independently associated with older age (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.57 per year, 95% CI 1.28-1.93) and male sex (aOR 1.79, 95% CI 1.02-3.13). Overweight/obesity was independently associated with younger age (aOR 0.72 per year, 95% CI 0.57-0.91). No sociodemographic or familial variable was significantly associated with thinness. Family size and parental education were not significantly associated with any of the three nutritional outcomes. These findings confirm a substantial triple burden of malnutrition, dominated by stunting, among adolescents in Toumodi. Age and sex, rather than family size or parental education, emerged as the main sociodemographic determinants. The results support the need for age- and sex-targeted nutritional interventions. They also reinforce the importance of extending nutrition surveillance beyond early childhood to explicitly include adolescents in West African school-age populations. VL - 14 IS - 5 ER -