European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

NUTRITIONAL PROFILE OF ADOLESCENTS IN MOROCCO

M. Rjimati*, S. Bayna, A. Soulaymani and E. Rjimati

ABSTRACT

Introduction: according to the World Obesity Atlas 2023 report, more than four billion people are expected to suffer from obesity by 2035, compared to 2.6 billion in 2020. This 38% increase over a period of 15 years reflects the strong outbreak of the scourge in all regions of the world, particularly among children and adolescents aged 5 to 19. The aim of this work is to evaluate the nutritional profile of Moroccan adolescents aged 15 to 18 years. Method: To achieve our objective, this study used data extracted from the database of the national survey on household consumption and expenditure 2013/2014 carried out by the High Commission for Planning in Morocco. Food consumption data were collected by a 24-h food recall taking into account seasonal variations and food waste. The nutritional analysis of the data was carried out by the Nutrilog software based on the Ciqual 2020 food composition table. Results: This investigation concerned 5509 adolescents of which 2684 (48.7%) are boys and 2825 (51.3%) are girls. The average age of boys is 16.50 ± 1.11 years against 16.53 ± 1.11 years for girls. The proportion of adolescents residing in urban areas is dominant 59.46% for boys against 59.04% for girls. The Casablanca-Settat region is the most represented in the sample studied and includes 17.73% of boys and 16.81% of girls. The analysis of adolescent schooling shows that 3.06% of boys and 7.08% of girls have never been to school and 78.13% of boys and 68.07% of girls have at least college or qualifying secondary level. The proportion of adolescents involved in this study from disadvantaged households is 22.32% for boys against 22.97% for girls, while that of adolescents from wealthy households is 17.59% against 17.03%. relative to food consumption indicates that the average daily energy intakes are statistically different in boys and girls, 3282.22±1708.74kcal/day for boys against 2223.51±51237.31kcal/day for girls. The contribution of macronutrients in these intakes within the ranges recommended by the WHO. The intakes of certain micronutrients (Calcium, iron, Zinc and vitamin D) show significant deviations from the recommended levels. Conclusion: The diet of Moroccan adolescents presents significant deviations from the recommendations. This situation has an impact on their nutritional status and on the development of the country. The implementation of strategies aimed at improving the health and well-being of this category of the population is necessary.

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