The Relationship Between Socio-demographic Factors and the Prevalence of Childhood Obesity in Egypt

Due to the alarming status of childhood obesity in Egypt, this paper seeks to examine the association between socio-demographic factors and obesity among children from birth until those aged 18 years in Egypt. The study employs both qualitative and quantitative approaches to analyze this relationship by providing both descriptive and empirical analyses of childhood obesity, where a multivariate logistic regression model is estimated using the 2014 Demographic Health Survey (DHS) data. The findings of the study indicated that child age and gender, maternal nutritional status, place of residence, and the interaction of wealth and region among children aged less than 5 in certain regions were found to have a significant impact on childhood obesity. On the other hand, wealth score, maternal education, the interaction of wealth and region for children aged (5-18) years, and wealth and maternal education did not have a significant impact. Based on these results, it is recommended to work on impacting the food choices of Egyptian households to be healthier through spreading awareness among the different economic classes, whether rich or poor, and especially among women. Furthermore, policies should target promoting better and affordable access to healthier food choices, especially among the poorest segments of the population, along with encouraging physical activities within schools. Although several studies have investigated this relationship, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first attempt to analyze this relationship for children from birth until those aged 18 years, using the 2014 DHS. Moreover, the study aimed at exploring the impact of the interaction between wealth and each of maternal education and place of residence on childhood obesity in Egypt.