Overweight in the pluri-ethnic adolescent population of New Caledonia: Dietary patterns, sleep duration and screen time

Stéphane Frayon; Guillaume Wattelez; Emilie Paufique; Akila Nedjar-Guerre; Christophe Serra-Mallol; Olivier Galy

doi:10.1016/j.lanwpc.2020.100025

Overweight in the pluri-ethnic adolescent population of New Caledonia: Dietary patterns, sleep duration and screen time

Lancet Reg Health West Pac. 2020 Sep 12:2:100025. doi: 10.1016/j.lanwpc.2020.100025. eCollection 2020 Sep.

Authors

Stéphane Frayon¹, Guillaume Wattelez¹, Emilie Paufique¹, Akila Nedjar-Guerre¹, Christophe Serra-Mallol², Olivier Galy¹

Affiliations

¹ Interdisciplinary Laboratory for Research in Education, EA 7483, School of Education, University of New Caledonia, BP R4, Avenue James Cook, Noumea Cedex 98851, New Caledonia.
² Centre on Work Organizations and Policies (CERTOP), UMR 5044 CNRS, University of Toulouse Jean Jaurès, 5 allées Antonio Machado, 31058 Toulouse cedex 9, France.

Abstract

Background: A high prevalence of overweight and obesity has been found in adolescents of New Caledonia and other Pacific Island Countries and Territories. Although Westernization may contribute to the weight gain in populations of Oceanian, Non-European, Non-Asian ancestry (ONENA), little is known about the sociodemographic and lifestyle factors associated with overweight in the Melanesian and Polynesian adolescents of New Caledonia.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a pluri-ethnic sample of New Caledonian adolescents (N = 954; age M = 13.2 years) completed a survey to estimate sleep duration, screen time, and dietary pattern using a food frequency questionnaire. Demographic data (gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status: SES, area of residence) were collected, and anthropometric measures were used to compute weight status.

Findings: We found a higher risk for being overweight in Melanesian (OR = 1.67) and Polynesian (OR = 5.40) adolescents compared with European adolescents, even after controlling for age, SES, area of residence, dietary pattern, sleep duration and screen time. We also found that low SES (OR = 3.43) and sleep duration (OR = 0.65 per hour) were independently associated with overweight status in the European but not in ONENA adolescents.

Interpretation: In this study, the main contribution to being overweight was ethnic background, i.e. being Melanesian or Polynesian. The hypothesis of a genetic influence thus seems attractive and merits further analyses.

Funding: This project was funded by the University of New Caledonia and the Fondation Nestlé France.

Keywords: Ethnicity; Food frequency; Lifestyle; Melanesian; Nutrition; Obesity; Pacific; Polynesian; Rural; Urban; Westernization.