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

Abstract

BackgroundObesity is gradually assuming an epidemic dimension among adults in Nigeria. Unfortunately, this has led to the increase in the prevalence of chronic diseases.ObjectiveThe 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 MethodsThe 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.ResultsThe 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.ConclusionThe study recommended more awareness campaign on the dangers of obesity across communities in Nigeria.