Prevalence of obesity among adults in Issele-Uku, Delta State Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Obesity is gradually assuming an epidemic dimension among adults in Nigeria. Unfortunately, this has led to the increase in the prevalence of chronic diseases.

Objective: The study was designed to assess the prevalence of obesity among adults in Issele-uku, Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta State, Nigeria.

Materials and Methods: The study employed a cross-sectional study design conducted among 201 respondents utilizing a simple random sampling technique. A validated semi-structured questionnaire was administered to obtain information from respondents; while descriptive and inferential statistics was used to analyze the data.

Results: The results show that more of the respondents were between the ages of 18–40 years, while about half 101 (50.50%) were females and 104 (52.0%) were married. Furthermore, only 46 (23.0%) were overweight while 17.50% and 5.50% were pre-obese and obese respectively. The mean Body Mass Index of the respondents was 23.02 ± 4.42 while the respondents demonstrated positive attitude towards prevention of obesity. In addition, only eating akpu/fufu significantly predicted obesity (R² = 0.034) while both sex (P = .350) and educational status (P = 0.165) did not significantly influence obesity and some of the respondents’ 82(41.0%) exercises once in a while.

Conclusion: The study recommended more awareness campaign on the dangers of obesity across communities in Nigeria.

Keywords: Obesity, Adults, Body Mass Index, Nigeria, Prevalence