IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0337102.html

The triple burden of malnutrition among adolescents in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: The role of gender, household environment, and food insecurity

Author

Listed:
  • Christina Kimaryo
  • Josephine Efraim
  • Nancy Njenge
  • Bruno Sunguya
  • Lyn Haskins
  • Anne Hatløy
  • Christiane Horwood

Abstract

Background: Adolescence is a critical growth period with increased nutritional needs that can put adolescents at risk for the triple burden of malnutrition, which can impair brain development, reduce functional capacity, and heighten the risk of non-communicable diseases. Despite this, there is limited data on factors associated with adolescent malnutrition in Dar es Salaam. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and associated factors for anaemia, stunting, underweight and overweight/obesity among adolescents in Dar es Salaam. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 507 adolescents aged 12–19 in Dar es Salaam, using multistage cluster sampling. Data was collected using a pre-validated structured questionnaire through an Open Data Kit, while anthropometric measurements were measured using a digital weighing scale and stadiometer. Hemocue machines were utilised to measure anaemia through capillary blood samples. Data analysis, including descriptive statistics and modified Poisson regression, was performed using Stata v18 to identify factors associated with malnutrition. Results: Overweight affected 16%, anaemia 39%, stunting 23% and thinness 12% of all adolescents. Food insecurity affected 69% of the households and was associated with a lower overweight risk (Crude Prevalence Ratio (CPR) 0.51, 95% CI: 0.34–0.75, p = 0.001) and a higher risk for thinness (CPR 2.10, 95% CI: 1.13, 3.91, p = 0.019). After controlling for other explanatory variables, adolescents from households with unimproved toilet facilities had a higher risk of anaemia (APR 1.51, 95% CI: 1.16–1.95, p = 0.002). Girls had a lower risk of stunting (APR 0.63, 95%, CI: 0.45–0.88, p = 0.006) and thinness (APR 0.29, 95%, CI: 0.16–0.54, p

Suggested Citation

  • Christina Kimaryo & Josephine Efraim & Nancy Njenge & Bruno Sunguya & Lyn Haskins & Anne Hatløy & Christiane Horwood, 2025. "The triple burden of malnutrition among adolescents in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: The role of gender, household environment, and food insecurity," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 20(12), pages 1-15, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0337102
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0337102
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0337102
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0337102&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0337102?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. J. V. Meenakshi, 2016. "Trends and patterns in the triple burden of malnutrition in India," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 47(S1), pages 115-134, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Narayanan, Sudha & Gerger, Nicolas & Rathore, Udayan & Naraparaju, Karthikeya, "undated". "Can social safety nets protect public health? The effect of India’s workfare and foodgrain subsidy programmes on anaemia," Discussion Papers 264342, University of Bonn, Center for Development Research (ZEF).
    2. Glover, Dominic & Poole, Nigel, 2019. "Principles of innovation to build nutrition-sensitive food systems in South Asia," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 63-73.
    3. Archana Dang & Indrani Gupta, 2021. "Obesity and its Impact on COVID Occurrence: Evidence from India," IEG Working Papers 430, Institute of Economic Growth.
    4. Jumrani, Jaya, 2023. "How responsive are nutrients in India? Some recent evidence," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    5. Michael Dolislager & Lenis Saweda O. Liverpool‐Tasie & Nicole M. Mason & Thomas Reardon & David Tschirley, 2022. "Consumption of healthy and unhealthy foods by the African poor: Evidence from Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 53(6), pages 870-894, November.
    6. Alwin D'Souza & Ashok K. Mishra & Stefan Hirsch, 2020. "Enhancing food security through diet quality: The role of nonfarm work in rural India," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 51(1), pages 95-110, January.
    7. Jasvir Kaur & Manmeet Kaur & Venkatesan Chakrapani & Rajesh Kumar, 2020. "Multilevel Influences on Fat, Sugar, Salt, Fruit, and Vegetable Consumption Behaviors Among Urban Indians: Application of the Social Ecological Model," SAGE Open, , vol. 10(2), pages 21582440209, May.
    8. Deepthi E. Kolady & Shivendra Kumar Srivastava & David Just & Jaspal Singh, 2021. "Food away from home and the reversal of the calorie intake decline in India," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 13(2), pages 369-384, April.
    9. S. Mahendra Dev, 2018. "Tranformation of Indian agriculture: Growth, iclusiveness and sustainability," Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai Working Papers 2018-026, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai, India.
    10. Aiyar, Anaka & Dhingra, Sunaina & Pingali, Prabhu, 2021. "Transitioning to an obese India: Demographic and structural determinants of the rapid rise in overweight incidence," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    11. Rahul Kumar & Balakrushna Padhi & Debi Prasad Bal & Soumen Ray, 2024. "Exhibiting the Changes in Nutritional Status of Children in India: An Empirical Insight from the Human Opportunity Index," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 17(3), pages 1161-1193, June.
    12. Aiyar, Anaka & Rahman, Andaleeb & Pingali, Prabhu, 2021. "India’s rural transformation and rising obesity burden," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    13. Anthony Fardet & Kenny Aubrun & Haripriya Sundaramoorthy & Edmond Rock, 2022. "Nutrition Transition and Chronic Diseases in India (1990–2019): An Ecological Study Based on Animal and Processed Food Caloric Intake and Adequacy according to Nutrient Needs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-20, November.
    14. Chandana Maitra & Vani Sethi & Sayeed Unisa & Sriram Shankar, 2019. "Household Food Insecurity and Maternal and Child Nutritional Status: Evidence from Maharashtra," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 65(S1), pages 63-101, November.
    15. Richard Alioma & Manfred Zeller & Yee Khor Ling, 2022. "Analysis of long-term prices of micronutrient-dense and starchy staple foods in developing countries," Agricultural and Food Economics, Springer;Italian Society of Agricultural Economics (SIDEA), vol. 10(1), pages 1-21, December.
    16. Andaleeb Rahman & Sumit Mishra, 2020. "Does Non-farm Income Affect Food Security? Evidence from India," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(6), pages 1190-1209, June.
    17. Chowdhury, Sourav & Kasemi, Nuruzzaman & Singh, Aditya & Chakrabarty, Mahashweta & Singh, Shivani, 2023. "Decomposing the gap in undernutrition among under-five children between EAG and non-EAG states of India," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    18. Surabhi M & Brinda Viswanathan, 2025. "Sustaining Nutri-Cereal Consumption in Rural Areas: Role of Access to Free Grains," Working Papers 2025-286, Madras School of Economics,Chennai,India.
    19. Purushotham, Anjali & Aiyar, Anaka & von Cramon-Taubadel, Stephan, 2021. "Dietary transition and its relationship with socio-economic status and peri-urban obesity," DARE Discussion Papers 2104, Georg-August University of Göttingen, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development (DARE).
    20. Purushotham, Anjali & Aiyar, Anaka & von Cramon-Taubadel, Stephan, 2023. "Processed foods, socio-economic status, and peri-urban obesity in India," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0337102. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.