TABLE 2.
Descriptive characteristics of the adolescents participating in the study.
| Characteristics | All (n = 2253) | Boys (n = 1079) | Girls (n = 1174) | P 1 | |||
| n | Value | n | Value | n | Value | ||
| Age (years) | 2,253 | 15.0 (0.1) | 1,079 | 15.0 (0.1) | 1,174 | 15.0 (0.1) | 0.382 |
| Height (cm) | 2,251 | 156.5 (7.6) | 1,078 | 160.5 (7.7) | 1,173 | 152.9 (5.4) | <0.001 |
| Weight (kg) | 2,253 | 43.9 (39.3–49.7) | 1,079 | 45.3 (39.3–51.0) | 1,174 | 43.1 (39.2–48.5) | <0.001 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 2,251 | 17.8 (16.3–19.8) | 1,078 | 17.2 (15.9–18.9) | 1,173 | 18.4 (16.9–20.5) | <0.001 |
| BAZ categories2 | 2,251 | <0.001 | |||||
| Normal | 1,649 | 73.3 | 707 | 65.6 | 942 | 80.3 | |
| Thin | 442 | 19.6 | 304 | 28.2 | 138 | 11.8 | |
| Overweight/obese | 160 | 7.1 | 67 | 6.2 | 93 | 7.9 | |
| Household wealth | 2,253 | <0.001 | |||||
| Poorest | 775 | 34.4 | 308 | 28.5 | 467 | 39.8 | |
| Intermediate | 723 | 32.1 | 397 | 36.8 | 326 | 27.8 | |
| Richest | 755 | 33.5 | 374 | 34.7 | 381 | 32.4 | |
| Maternal education | 2,253 | 0.027 | |||||
| None | 447 | 19.8 | 210 | 19.5 | 237 | 20.2 | |
| Primary | 800 | 35.5 | 357 | 33.1 | 443 | 37.7 | |
| Secondary or above | 1,006 | 44.7 | 512 | 47.4 | 494 | 42.1 | |
| Adolescent education | <0.001 | ||||||
| None | 355 | 15.8 | 214 | 19.8 | 141 | 12.0 | |
| Primary | 57 | 2.5 | 45 | 4.2 | 12 | 1.0 | |
| Secondary | 1,841 | 81.7 | 820 | 76.0 | 1,021 | 87.0 | |
| Diet clusters | 2,253 | <0.001 | |||||
| Traditional | 764 | 33.9 | 282 | 26.1 | 482 | 41.0 | |
| Fish-dominant | 559 | 24.8 | 316 | 29.3 | 243 | 20.7 | |
| Meat-dominant | 468 | 20.8 | 222 | 20.6 | 246 | 21.0 | |
| High-variety | 462 | 20.5 | 259 | 24.0 | 203 | 17.3 | |
| DDS quartiles | 2,253 | 0.026 | |||||
| Q1 (DDS ≤ 4) | 965 | 42.8 | 439 | 40.7 | 526 | 44.8 | |
| Q2 (DDS = 5) | 568 | 25.2 | 262 | 24.3 | 306 | 26.1 | |
| Q3 (DDS = 6) | 427 | 19.0 | 227 | 21.0 | 200 | 17.0 | |
| Q4 (DDS ≥ 7) | 293 | 13.0 | 151 | 14.0 | 142 | 12.1 | |
| DDS | 2,253 | 4.8 (1.5) | 1,079 | 4.9 (1.6) | 1,174 | 4.7 (1.4) | |
| WC (cm) | 2,253 | 62.4 (58.9–66.8) | 1,079 | 62.4 (59.3–66.4) | 1,174 | 62.4 (58.8–67.2) | 0.989 |
| SBP (mm of Hg) | 2,252 | 108.8 (8.0) | 1,078 | 110.3 (8.2) | 1,174 | 107.4 (7.6) | <0.001 |
| TG (mmol/L) | 2,245 | 0.9 (0.7–1.2) | 1,077 | 0.9 (0.7–1.1) | 1,168 | 1.0 (0.8–1.3) | <0.001 |
| TC (mmol/L) | 2,245 | 3.6 (0.7) | 1,077 | 3.4 (0.6) | 1,168 | 3.7 (0.7) | <0.001 |
| LDL (mmol/L) | 2,245 | 2.1 (0.6) | 1,077 | 2.0 (0.5) | 1,168 | 2.2 (0.6) | <0.001 |
| HDL (mmol/L) | 2,245 | 1.0 (0.2) | 1,077 | 1.0 (0.2) | 1,168 | 1.0 (0.2) | 0.441 |
| Insulin (μU/L) | 2,245 | 11.4 (7.8–18.3) | 1,078 | 9.6 (6.6–16.3) | 1,167 | 12.9 (9.3–20.2) | <0.001 |
| Glucose (mmol/L) | 2,253 | 5.2 (0.5) | 1,079 | 5.3 (0.5) | 1,174 | 5.1 (0.4) | <0.001 |
| HOMA-IR | 2,245 | 2.6 (1.7–4.2) | 1,078 | 2.2 (1.5–3.8) | 1,167 | 2.9 (2.1–4.7) | <0.001 |
BMI, body mass index; BAZ, BMI-for-age z-score; WC, waist circumference; DDS, dietary diversity score; Q, quartile; SBP, systolic blood pressure; TG, triglyceride; TC, total cholesterol; LDL, low-density lipoprotein; HDL, high-density lipoprotein; HOMA-IR, insulin resistance from Homeostasis Model Assessment.
Values represent percentage for categorical variables, mean with standard deviation for continuous variables (approximately) normally distributed, or median with inter-quartile range for continuous variables that were skewed. P-values in bold indicate statistical significance.
Missing data: height and BMI (n = 2), SBP (n = 1), TG (n = 8), TC (n = 8), LDL (n = 8), HDL (n = 8), and insulin and HOMA-IR (n = 8).
1P-value for gender difference from Chi-squared test, independent samples t-test, or Wilcoxon rank-sum test.
2BAZ below −2 SD and above + 1 SD define thinness and overweight/obesity, respectively.