{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,21]],"date-time":"2026-05-21T15:04:59Z","timestamp":1779375899283,"version":"3.53.1"},"reference-count":47,"publisher":"AOSIS","issue":"0","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,26]],"date-time":"2026-05-26T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1779753600000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background:\u00a0The global increase in overweight and obesity among adolescents is a significant public health priority, especially in low- and middle-income countries. In South Africa, urbanisation and lifestyle changes have exacerbated this challenge, but there is a lack of disaggregated data available to inform effective local responses.\nAim:\u00a0To assess and describe the prevalence of overweight, obesity and central adiposity in Grade seven adolescents in urban Tshwane, South Africa, and explore its association with socioeconomic characteristics.\nSetting:\u00a0The study was conducted in five diverse fee-paying public primary schools in urban Tshwane, Gauteng province.\nMethods:\u00a0A quantitative, descriptive cross-sectional design recruited 164 adolescents aged 11\u201314 years. Anthropometric measures were performed according to World Health Organization (WHO) standards. These included a survey of height and weight to derive body mass index (BMI-for-age) z-scores, as well as waist circumference to height ratio (WHtR). Socioeconomic status was assessed using the validated Family Affluence Scale. Data analysis included descriptive statistics and chi-square tests to determine the association between categorical variables.\nResults:\u00a0The combined prevalence of overweight and obesity was 23.7%, with a greater burden among girls (36.4% of 12 year olds) compared to boys (16.7%). The risk of central adiposity (WHtR \u2265 0.5) was found in 25% of participants, with 7.3% at very high risk. Household income was significantly associated with obesity (p\u00a0= 0.043), while parental education was not statistically significant.\nConclusion:\u00a0The high prevalence of excess adiposity, particularly among female adolescents, indicates an emerging cardiometabolic risk profile among the group.\nContribution:\u00a0This study addresses a critical gap in South African public health literature by providing locally specific, disaggregated data on the nutritional status of urban adolescents in Tshwane, a cohort that is underrepresented in contrast to conventional rural or national surveys.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.4102\/hsag.v31i0.3328","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,21]],"date-time":"2026-05-21T14:05:48Z","timestamp":1779372348000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.4102\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Prevalence of overweight, obesity and central adiposity among grade seven adolescents in urban Tshwane, South Africa"],"prefix":"10.4102","volume":"31","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0009-8300-0869","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nonie M.","family":"Mokose","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"University of the Free State"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0812-2657","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jan W.","family":"Swanepoel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of the Free State"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8975-5693","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Wilna","family":"Oldewage-Theron","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of the Free State"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"2580","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,26]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref0","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Alberga, A.S., Sigal, R.J., Goldfield, G., Prud\u2019homme, D. & Kenny, G.P., 2012, \u2018Overweight and obese teenagers: Why is adolescence a critical period?\u2019, Pediatric Obesity 7(4), 261\u2013273. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1111\/j.2047-6310.2011.00046.x","DOI":"10.1111\/j.2047-6310.2011.00046.x"},{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ashwell, M. & Gibson, S., 2016, \u2018Waist-to-height ratio as an indicator of \u2018early health risk\u2019: Simpler and more predictive than using a \u2018matrix\u2019 based on BMI and waist circumference\u2019, BMJ Open 6(3), e010159. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/bmjopen-2015-010159","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjopen-2015-010159"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Coenen, A., Batterham, M.J. & Beck, E.J., 2021, \u2018Statistical methods and software used in nutrition and dietetics research: A review of the published literature using text mining\u2019, Nutrition & Dietetics 78(3), 333\u2013342. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1111\/1747-0080.12678","DOI":"10.1111\/1747-0080.12678"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Corell, M., Chen, Y., Friberg, P., Petzold, M. & L\u00f6fstedt, P., 2021, \u2018Does the family affluence scale reflect actual parental earned income, level of education and occupational status? 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