Obesity among Non-Pregnant Women in the 36 States and Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria; Sub-National Variation of a National Epidemic

Abstract

Background: Various studies have reported the national prevalence of obesity in Nigeria; however, data on the sub-national variation is scarce.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the sub-national distribution and variation of obesity among nonpregnant women of  reproductive age in Nigeria.

Methods: Nationally, representative data from the 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) was used to select 13,180  women of reproductive age from all the states, through a two-stage cluster sampling technique. Obesity was determined using the World  Health Organization reference values for older adolescents and others. Sub-national variation was determined with binary logistic regression analysis using unadjusted and adjusted rates, and adjustment was made for individual, household and community level factors. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considere statistically significant. 

Results: The mean age of respondents was 29.5 ± 9.7 years, and  there was mostly an even distribution of respondents across the States. The obesity prevalence among women of reproductive age was  28.5% with the burden generally higher among the southern states, compared to the northern states. Also, after adjusting for risk factors,  two-thirds of the states still had a statistically significant variation in the prevalence of obesity. 

Conclusion: Given that sub- national variations do exist in the obesity prevalence among women of reproductive age in Nigeria, even after adjusting for commonly  reported predictors, there is a need to identify state-level determinants of obesity, intending to design state-specific interventions to  address this problem.