ORIGINAL ARTICLE Eating behavior of young adolescents in urban area in northwestern Morocco A. Soualem • A. O. T. Ahami • Y. Aboussaleh • B. Elbouhali • F. Bonthoux Received: 10 December 2009 / Accepted: 9 January 2012 / Published online: 26 January 2012 Ó Springer-Verlag 2012 Abstract Adolescence is a period of gradual transition from childhood to adulthood. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of being overweight and to study the impact of environmental factors in Morocco in a sample of 190 schoolchildren aged 12–16 years from five schools in the Kenitra urban area. Anthropometric and blood pressure measurements were made. Two groups were distinguished through the use of a test of food quality. Anthropometric information revealed that the prevalence of being overweight in the sample was 9.7%. This study also revealed that blood pressure increased with body mass index (r 2 = 0.41 for systolic and r 2 = 0.37 for diastolic blood pressure). Statis- tical analyses suggested that adolescents’ eating behavior was influenced by educational level and father’s working status, income of households, as well as language spoken at home (odds ratio = 3.62, 2.55, 2.63 and 2.51, respectively; CI = [1.81–7.19], [1.24–5.24], [1.39–4.97], [1.2–5.28]). To correct these eating dysfunctions, a nutritional education strategy during early adolescence seems essential. This strategy will stress the spontaneous consumption of green vegetables and fresh fruits, which cannot be carried out without the implication of the family environment. Keywords Malnutrition Á Food behavior Á Adolescent Á Overweight Introduction Literature review reveals that growth in the adolescence period has not received the same attention from nutrition- ists as early childhood [1]. However, young adolescents (around 12–16 years old) are subjected to a critical period of eating behavior because of their vulnerability to the influence of environmental factors like nutrition transition [2]. In this period, the adolescent searches his identity between the legacy of his family and affiliation groups [2]. During this phase, the eating behavior of the future adult suffers the impact from the gradual opening to an increasingly wide range of foods, including new products with other flavors and forms. There is a nutrition transition in Morocco assosiated with globalisation and rapid urbanization. The dietary habits in the Mediterranean countries have progressively changed and show specially increasing consumption of energy-dense foods high in fat and sugar [3]. However, the Mediterranean dietary pattern is commonly recognized as a healthy eating pattern for chronic disease prevention (obesity, diabetes…)[4]. In Morocco, around 25% of total population include children and adolescents. The aim of this study is twofold: 1) to evaluate the prevalence of being overweight and the impact of nutrition transition on nutritional status and eating behavior of adolescents in the Kenitra City (Morocco) and 2) to explore the impact of environmental factors on adolescents’ food quality across nutrition transition. Kenitra is located in the northwestern region of Mor- occo. This is one of the richest regions with respect to agriculture. It has road and rail networks allowing easy connection with the main centers of consumption A. Soualem (&) Á A. O. T. Ahami Á Y. Aboussaleh Á B. Elbouhali Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Biology and Health Laboratory, Unit of Neuroscience and Nutrition, Ibn Tofail University, Kenitra, Morocco e-mail: kadersou@yahoo.fr F. Bonthoux Laboratory of Psychology and Neurocognition, UMR 5105, Grenoble University II, Grenoble, France 123 Mediterr J Nutr Metab (2012) 5:157–161 DOI 10.1007/s12349-012-0089-8