The relationship between the grades of obesity and socioeconomic determinants of obesity in a Nigerian population

Abstract

Background: The World Health Organisation has reported that obesity is globally expanding and has reached epidemic proportions both in the developed, as well as the developing nations. An association can be found between one's socio-economic status and the development of obesity.

Objective: This study therefore sought to determine the relationship between the grades of obesity and socio-economic determinants of obesity in Eku Baptist Government Hospital, Eku, Delta state between May 2015 and July 2015.

Methodology: The study was a cross-sectional study carried out at Eku Baptist Government Hospital, Eku, Delta state, among two hundred and sixty five obese adults who are above thirty years. An interviewer administered questionnaire was used for data collection. Data analysis was by use of SPSS version 16 computer software and statistical significance was set at p= 0.05.

Results: The mean age of the respondents was 52.3±8.9 years with a preponderance of females accounting for 77.4% (male to female ratio of 1:3.3). Majority of the respondents had at least secondary level of education (73.2%), earned ≥ N18000 (72.0%), and belonged to the middle social class (50.9%) while 36.6% were in the skilled occupational group. Furthermore, severe forms of obesity were most common among respondents who were of high social class however, this association was not statistically significant

In conclusion, the result obtained in this study showed that the relationship between grades of obesity and socio-economic status was negative and not statistically significant.

Keywords: Obesity, Socio-economic status, Body Mass Index, Eku