title: Growth and weight status in treatment-naïve 12-16 year old adolescents with alcohol use disorders in Cape Town, South Africa.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Heavy alcohol consumption during adolescence has many known harmful health and social consequences and is strongly associated with numerous health risk behaviours. The consequences of heavy alcohol use during adolescence on nutritional status, specifically growth and weight status are largely unknown at this time.
  
  
  METHODS
  Substance use, anthropometric indices of growth and weight, dietary energy intake and physical activity in heavy drinking adolescents (meeting DSM-IV criteria for alcohol use disorders) and matched light/non-drinking control adolescents were assessed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Lifetime alcohol dose, measured in standard drinks of alcohol, was orders of magnitude higher in adolescents with alcohol use disorders (AUDs) compared to controls. The AUDs group was selected to represent relatively 'pure' AUDs, with minimal other drug use and no psychiatric diagnoses. The growth and weight status of adolescents with AUDs were generally comparable to that of controls, and is in line with the growth and weight status of the South African adolescent population. A greater proportion of overweight/obese females was found in both groups, with this percentage tending to be greater, although not significantly so, in the AUDs group. Adolescent females with AUDs had increased odds of being overweight/obese compared to controls, after adjustment for smoking, physical activity and energy intake.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Anthropometric indices of growth and weight status of participants in the Control and AUD groups were generally comparable. Female adolescents with AUDs may have an increased risk of being overweight/obese compared to adolescent females without AUDs. The presence of an AUD in our adolescent sample was associated with higher energy intake. Longitudinal studies are needed to elucidate the effects of heavy alcohol use on energy balance, growth and weight status in adolescents as they age. Nonetheless, the current study contributes to our understanding of the impacts of heavy alcohol consumption on important aspects of adolescent development.
authors.affiliation: Division of Human Nutrition, Stellenbosch University, South Africa. cenaude@sun.ac.za
authors.forename: Celeste E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Naude
authors.forename: Marjanne
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Senekal
authors.forename: Ria
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Laubscher
authors.forename: Paul D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Carey
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fein
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D019973:Alcohol-Related Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001835:Body Weight; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D002149:Energy Intake; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012907:Smoking; D013019:South Africa / Q000453:epidemiology; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders