title: Prevalence of obesity and overweight in African learners: a protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.
abstract: Obesity and overweight are an emerging problem in Africa. Obese children are at increased risk of developing hypertension, high cholesterol, orthopaedic problems and type 2 diabetes as well as increased risk of adult obesity. Prevention of childhood overweight and obesity therefore needs high priority. The review approach is particularly useful in establishing whether research findings are consistent and can be generalised across populations and settings. This systematic review aims to assess the magnitude and distribution of overweight and obesity among primary school learners within populations in Africa.
  
  
  
  A comprehensive search of key bibliographic databases including MEDLINE (PubMed), MEDLINE (EbscoHost), CINAHL (EbscoHost), Academic Search Complete (EbscoHost) and ISI Web of Science (Science Citation Index) will be conducted for published literature. Grey literature will be also be obtained. Full-text articles of eligible studies will be obtained and screened following predefined inclusion criteria. The quality of reporting as well as risk of bias of included studies will be assessed, data extracted and synthesised. The results will be summarised and presented by country and major regional groupings. Meta-analysis will be conducted for identical variables across studies. This review will be reported following the MOOSE Guidelines for Meta-Analysis and Systematic Reviews of Observational Studies.
  
  
  
  Ethics is not a requirement since no primary data will be collected. All data that will be presented in this review are based on published articles. The findings of this systematic review will be submitted for publication in peer-reviewed journals and disseminated in national and international conferences and also in policy documents to appropriate bodies for decision-making, where needed. It is expected that the findings will identify some research gaps for further studies.
authors.affiliation: Nutrition Research Centre, Radiological and Medical Sciences Research Institute, Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, Legon, Ghana.|Faculty of Community and Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of the Western Cape, South Africa.
authors.forename: Theodosia
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Adom
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Community and Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of the Western Cape, South Africa.
authors.forename: Thandi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Puoane
authors.affiliation: Non-communicable Disease Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, South Africa.
authors.forename: Anniza
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: De Villiers
authors.affiliation: Non-communicable Disease Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, South Africa.|University of Cape Town, South Africa.
authors.forename: André Pascal
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Kengne
mesh_terms: D000349:Africa / Q000453:epidemiology; D001823:Body Composition; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D015201:Meta-Analysis as Topic; D063766:Pediatric Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012196:Review Literature as Topic; D000078202:Systematic Reviews as Topic
keywords: EPIDEMIOLOGY; NUTRITION & DIETETICS