Perceptions and experiences of young Black South African women with obesity from a low socioeconomic community after following a 12-week structured exercise intervention.

Background: Previous research has shown that Black South African (SA) women perceive a bigger body size to be acceptable and desirable, but nonetheless have shown interest in participating in community-based exercise programmes. This study aimed to investigate perceptions and experiences of participating in a 12-week exercise intervention designed to study the mechanisms of insulin sensitivity and secretion in young Black SA women with obesity.

Methods: Qualitative data was collected from young (23 ± 2.

Associations of leucocyte telomere length with cardio-metabolic risk profile in a South African HIV-infected population.

Leukocyte Telomere length (LTL) is an independent predictor of cardio-metabolic diseases (CMDs) and Human Immuno Virus (HIV) infection. However, studies are lacking on the association between LTL with CMD profile in people with HIV. Accordingly, we investigated the association between LTL and CMD profile in HIV-infected adult South Africans.

A Scoping Review of Policies Related to the Prevention and Control of Overweight and Obesity in Africa.

To address the issue of obesity, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a set of comprehensive programmes aimed at changing the obesogenic environments to provide opportunities for healthy food options and increased physical activity in the school, home, and at the population level. The objectives of this study were to examine the nature and range of policies related to overweight and obesity prevention in Africa, and to assess how they align with international guidelines. An existing methodological framework was adapted for this scoping review.

Dietary Practices and Adolescent Obesity in Secondary School Learners at Disadvantaged Schools in South Africa: Urban-Rural and Gender Differences.

South Africa has a high prevalence of obesity in black female adolescents and a paucity of knowledge regarding contributing dietary practices. The aim of this study was to assess the dietary practices and weight status of male and female adolescents at secondary schools in the Eastern Cape province in urban and rural areas. Sixteen schools and grade 8-12 learners (N = 1360) were randomly selected from three health districts comprising poor disadvantaged communities.

Care and management of a double burden of chronic diseases: Experiences of patients and perceptions of their healthcare providers.

Aim: The increasing burden of comorbid HIV infection and hypertension necessitates a focus on healthcare services providing care for chronic multi-morbidities. The aim of this study was to evaluate the perceptions and experiences of 1) people living with HIV infection and comorbid hypertension, and 2) their healthcare providers, related to their diagnoses and interactions with chronic healthcare services in South Africa.

Methods: This study comprised quantitative and qualitative arms with a multi-layered approach.

The Food and Nutrition Environment at Secondary Schools in the Eastern Cape, South Africa as Reported by Learners.

Overweight and obesity are growing concerns in adolescents, particularly in females in South Africa. The aim of this study was to evaluate the food and nutrition environment in terms of government policy programs, nutrition education provided, and foods sold at secondary schools in the Eastern Cape province. Sixteen schools and grade 8-12 learners ( = 1360) were randomly selected from three health districts comprising poor disadvantaged communities.

Tobacco smoking and associated factors in human immunodeficiency virus-infected adults attending human immunodeficiency virus clinics in the Western Cape province, South Africa.

Background: In human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals, smoking increases both HIV-related and non-related negative health outcomes.

Objectives: To determine the prevalence and associations of smoking in HIV-infected adults receiving antiretroviral therapy at public healthcare facilities in the Western Cape province, South Africa.

Methods: Participants comprised 827 HIV-infected patients, who were > 18 years old and randomly selected from 17 HIV healthcare facilities.

School-Based Interventions Targeting Nutrition and Physical Activity, and Body Weight Status of African Children: A Systematic Review.

Background: Overweight/obesity is an emerging health concern among African children. The aim of this study was to summarise available evidence from school-based interventions that focused on improving nutrition and physical activity knowledge, attitude, and behaviours, and weight status of children aged 6-15 years in the African context.

Methods: Multiple databases were searched for studies evaluating school-based interventions of African origin that involved diet alone, physical activity alone, or multicomponent interventions, for at least 12 weeks in duration, reporting changes in either diet, physical activity, or body composition, and published between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2018.

Diagnostic Accuracy of Body Mass Index in Defining Childhood Obesity: Analysis of Cross-Sectional Data from Ghanaian Children.

Background: Screening methods for childhood obesity are based largely on the published body mass index (BMI) criteria. Nonetheless, their accuracy in African children is largely unknown. The diagnostic accuracies of the World Health Organization (WHO), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the International Obesity Taskforce (IOTF) BMI-based criteria in defining obesity using deuterium dilution as a criterion method in a sample of Ghanaian children are presented.

Association between school-level attributes and weight status of Ghanaian primary school children.

Background: Little is known about the impact of the school environmental context on the emerging trend of childhood obesity in Africa. We examined the association of the schools' contextual factors with body mass index (BMI), abdominal obesity and overweight (including obesity) in urban Ghana.

Method: Using cross-sectional data from 543 school children aged 8-11 years attending 14 primary schools, we applied multilevel logistic regressions and linear regression models to investigate the association of child- and school level attributes with overweight, abdominal obesity, and BMI.

Prevalence and correlates of overweight and obesity among school children in an urban district in Ghana.

Background: There is limited data on risk factors associated with childhood overweight and obesity in Ghanaian school children. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of overweight and obesity and associated risk factors in Ghanaian school children.

Methods: Data for this study were obtained from a cross-sectional survey of 543 children aged 8 and 11 years, attending private and public primary schools in the Adentan Municipality of Greater Accra Region, Ghana.

Glycated haemoglobin threshold for dysglycaemia screening, and application to metabolic syndrome diagnosis in HIV-infected Africans.

Background: Glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) test has been increasingly promoted as an alternative to fasting plasma glucose (FPG) or oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) to diagnose dysglycaemia but its performance in HIV-infected Africans has yet to be established. This study aimed to assess the diagnostic accuracy of HbA1c for dysglycaemia including FPG-defined and OGTT-defined dysglycaemia, and OGTT-defined diabetes in HIV-infected Africans, and the effect of HbA1c-predicted dysglycaemia on Joint Interim Statement (JIS)-based prevalent metabolic syndrome (MS).

Methods: A cross-sectional study included HIV-positive patients recruited across public healthcare facilities in the Western Cape.

Nutrient profile and energy cost of food sold by informal food vendors to learners in primary and secondary schools in the Eastern Cape, South Africa.

Objective: To assess type, nutrient profile and cost of food items sold by informal vendors to learners; and to determine nutrient content of corn-based processed snacks frequently sold.

Design: Cross-sectional survey.

Setting: Quintile 1 to 3 schools (n 36) randomly selected from six education districts; Eastern Cape, South Africa.

Differential associations of cardio-metabolic diseases by population group, gender and adiposity in South Africa.

Aims: To describe the distribution and examine the associations of diabetes, hypertension and hypercholesterolaemia across and within population groups, gender and body mass index (BMI) categories.

Methods: This national cross-sectional study was conducted in 2013 among ≥18-year-old black African, coloured, white and Indian adults self-selected for screening. Data collection included self-reported behavioural risk factors and clinical measurements comprising blood pressure, anthropometry and point-of-care random blood glucose and cholesterol assessments.

Prevalence, detection, treatment, and control of hypertension in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients attending HIV clinics in the Western Cape Province, South Africa.

Representative data on the prevalence of hypertension, a major non-infectious comorbidity in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected people, is lacking. We assessed the prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control, as well as determinants of hypertension in HIV-infected adults in South Africa.A cross-sectional survey was conducted between March 2014 and February 2015 in a random sample of 827 adults (77.

The HealthKick Study: Modifiable Lifestyle Factors in Primary Caregivers of Primary School Learners from Two School Districts in the Western Cape Province, South Africa.

Background: The HealthKick (HK) study showed that educators (teachers) had a high prevalence of risk factors for the development of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Little data are available on parents or other primary caregivers of learners from disadvantaged schools.

Aim: The aim of our study was to determine modifiable risk factors for the development of NCDs in a sample of caregivers of schools included in the HK intervention program.

An Exercise Intervention to Unravel the Mechanisms Underlying Insulin Resistance in a Cohort of Black South African Women: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial and Baseline Characteristics of Participants.

Background: The pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes (T2D) in black African women is complex and differs from that in their white counterparts. However, earlier studies have been cross-sectional and provide little insight into the causal pathways. Exercise training is consistently used as a model to examine the mechanisms underlying insulin resistance and risk for T2D.

Evaluation of a Mass-Media Campaign to Increase the Awareness of the Need to Reduce Discretionary Salt Use in the South African Population.

The South African strategic plan to reduce cardiovascular disease (CVD) includes reducing population salt intake to less than 5 g/day. A mass media campaign was undertaken to increase public awareness of the association between high salt intake, blood pressure and CVD, and focused on the reduction of discretionary salt intake. Community based surveys, before and after the campaign, were conducted in a cohort of black women aged 18-55 years.

Optimal waist circumference threshold for diagnosing metabolic syndrome in African people living with HIV infection.

Background: The applicability of the internationally advocated cut-off points of waist circumference (WC) derived from Caucasians to diagnose metabolic syndrome (MS) in HIV-infected Africans is unknown. This study aimed to determine the optimal WC cutoffs for MS diagnosis in HIV-infected people receiving care at public healthcare facilities in the Western Cape Province in South Africa.

Methods: Data from 748 randomly selected participants (591 women), with a median age of 38 years, were analysed.

Does Physical Activity Mediate the Association Between Perceived Neighborhood Aesthetics and Overweight/Obesity Among South African Adults Living in Selected Urban and Rural Communities?

Background: To investigate the mediation effects of physical activity (PA) on the relationship between the perceived neighborhood aesthetic environment and overweight/obesity in free-living South Africans.

Methods: A cross-sectional study of 671 adults aged ≥ 35 years was analyzed. PA was assessed using the validated International Physical Activity Questionnaire.

Protocol for a scoping review of existing policies on the prevention and control of obesity across countries in Africa.

Introduction: The obesity epidemic is a public health challenge for all, including low-income countries. The behavioural patterns known to contribute to the rise in obesity prevalence occur in an environmental context which is not conducive for healthy choices. A policy approach to obesity prevention constitutes a form of public intervention in that it extends beyond individuals to influence entire populations and is a mechanism for creating healthier environments.