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. 2024 Sep 18:13:e38.
doi: 10.1017/jns.2024.34. eCollection 2024.

Adolescent nutrition in Nigeria: a systematic review

Theophilus Sunday Gabriel #  1 , Mohammed Kasim #  2 , Francis Adah Oluma  1 , Taulant Muka  3 , Erand Llanaj  4   5
Affiliations

Adolescent nutrition in Nigeria: a systematic review

Theophilus Sunday Gabriel et al. J Nutr Sci. .

Abstract

In this systematic review, we scrutinise adolescent nutrition in Nigeria, focusing on dietary patterns, intake, and nutritional status. Through a systematic examination of observational studies across three major databases, we analysed data from 67,844 adolescents. Our exploration revealed 102 studies, predominantly cross-sectional, addressing various nutritional dimensions. However, only 13% of these studies demonstrated low risk of bias, with none offering national representation and most concentrated in specific, school-based regions. The findings underscore a complex nutritional landscape with widespread malnutrition and highlight the critical need for high-quality, comprehensive data. The dominance of cross-sectional designs and regional biases in existing research calls for cautious interpretation and suggests a pressing need for more robust, nationally representative studies to guide future nutritional interventions and policy-making in Nigeria.

Keywords: Adolescents; Anthropometry; Nigeria; Nutrition; Systematic review.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest relevant to this article to disclose.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
PRISMA flowchart.(14)
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Summary of the individual studies reporting anthropometric indicators over time.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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