Abstract
This study used the concentration index (CI) to measure the gradient of income-based inequalities in adolescent obesity in South Africa. The study considered the importance of the national school feeding programme, which has a significant effect on adolescent obesity. The positive value of the CI of 0.053 confirmed that adolescent obesity in South Africa (SA) is pro-rich. The decomposition analysis confirmed that most of adolescent obesity is explained by income which contributes 64.9%, followed by 17% for each of school feeding programme and maternal education. This suggests that for effective policy-making to reduce adolescent obesity in SA, the government should intervene in the nutritional environment of adolescents at school level, particularly in schools that do not have school feeding programmes.
Keywords: Income, Adolescent obesity, School feeding programme, Concentration index, Decomposition analysis.