Endocrine Abstracts

JOINT410

Background: Adolescent obesity has become a critical issue globally, with diet playing a pivotal role in its development. Despite the increasing prevalence of obesity in this age group, the dietary habits contributing to this condition remain underexplored. Understanding these dietary habits is crucial to addressing the root causes of obesity in adolescents. This study aims to highlight the dietary profile of adolescents with obesity.

Methods: A retrospective study involved obese adolescents, followed at the Endocrinology Department of Sfax, Tunisia, for obesity management. A dietary survey was conducted during a nutritional counseling session. The survey data were analyzed using the "BILNUT" software to obtain nutritional information.

Results: The study population consisted of 58 adolescents with a sex ratio of 0.49. The mean age of the patients was 15.4 ± 2 years. The total energy intake was 2475.9 kcal/day ± 686, with carbohydrate intake averaging 54.3% ± 5.2, showing no significant gender difference (P = 0.091). Simple sugar intake was 3.7% ± 2.6. Among patients, 44.8% had adequate carbohydrate intake, 12.1% had insufficient intake, and 43.1% had excessive intake. Lipid intake was 34.8% ± 4.8, with no significant difference between genders (P = 0.070), except for polyunsaturated fatty acids (P = 0.018). Saturated fatty acids accounted for 7.8% ± 1.5, while monounsaturated fats made up 16.4% ± 4.5. Regarding fat intake, 51.7% had normal levels, 8.6% had insufficient intake, and 39.7% had excessive intake. Protein intake was 61.5% ± 20.8, but only 22.4% of patients had a normal protein intake, while 77.6% followed a protein-poor diet. Protein intake was not significantly associated with gender (P = 0.771), nor was cholesterol intake (P = 0.159). Cholesterol intake was normal in 10.3%, insufficient in 55.2%, and excessive in 34.5%. Calcium intake (<800 mg/day) was insufficient in 94.8% of cases, while iron intake was deficient in 94.7% of boys and in all girls. The average fiber intake was 15.9 ± 6.3 g/day. Boys had significantly higher fiber intake compared to girls (P = 0.009), and a fiber deficiency (<20 g/day) was found in 77.6% of cases. Finally, vitamin C intake averaged 60.3 mg/day ± 36.4, with no significant difference between genders (P = 0.700).

Conclusion: Analyzing the dietary profile of adolescents with obesity is essential for developing effective strategies to combat this growing public health challenge.