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Obesity in Southern Nigeria: A Prevalence Study Among Adults in Rumuomasi, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria

Received: 19 January 2024    Accepted: 29 January 2024    Published: 5 February 2024
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Abstract

Background: Obesity is progressively taking on the characteristics of an epidemic, and Nigeria has its own share from this trend. Obesity increases the risk of a number of illnesses, including type 2 diabetes mellitus, stroke, coronary heart disease, and other atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases. This study is aimed at determining and discussing the prevalence of obesity among adults 18–87 years in Rumuomasi community, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. Methods: A total of 199 adults between 18 and 87 years of age participated in this cross-sectional community based study using convenience sampling. Anthropometric variables were obtained and Body Mass Index (BMI) categorized according to World Health Organization (WHO) classification. Data was analyzed by descriptive and inferential analysis using Excel and STATA version 15.0. Results: The mean age for the participants was 49.43 ±15.67 years. There were more women (68.34%) than men (31.66%). The prevalence of obesity was 24.63% and there were more obese women (30.15%) than men (12.70%) in the population. The prevalence of overweight was also at 24.62%. Age (P=0.013) significantly influenced obesity as obesity was more prevalent in participant within 41-60 years old. Conclusion: The prevalence of obesity in this study was high (24.63%), this shows the need for regular community health education, awareness on healthy lifestyles, and regular health screening to control the rising prevalence of obesity.

Published in Central African Journal of Public Health (Volume 10, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/cajph.20241001.14
Page(s) 25-29
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Obesity, Overweight, Prevalence, Southern Nigerian, Community

References
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Nwafor, C. E., Edeogu, J., Stanley, R., Enyichukwu, B., Ogomegbunam, M. (2024). Obesity in Southern Nigeria: A Prevalence Study Among Adults in Rumuomasi, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. Central African Journal of Public Health, 10(1), 25-29. https://doi.org/10.11648/cajph.20241001.14

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    ACS Style

    Nwafor, C. E.; Edeogu, J.; Stanley, R.; Enyichukwu, B.; Ogomegbunam, M. Obesity in Southern Nigeria: A Prevalence Study Among Adults in Rumuomasi, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. Cent. Afr. J. Public Health 2024, 10(1), 25-29. doi: 10.11648/cajph.20241001.14

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    AMA Style

    Nwafor CE, Edeogu J, Stanley R, Enyichukwu B, Ogomegbunam M. Obesity in Southern Nigeria: A Prevalence Study Among Adults in Rumuomasi, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. Cent Afr J Public Health. 2024;10(1):25-29. doi: 10.11648/cajph.20241001.14

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  • @article{10.11648/cajph.20241001.14,
      author = {Chibuike Eze Nwafor and Julius Edeogu and Rosemary Stanley and Blessing Enyichukwu and Maxwell Ogomegbunam},
      title = {Obesity in Southern Nigeria: A Prevalence Study Among Adults in Rumuomasi, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria},
      journal = {Central African Journal of Public Health},
      volume = {10},
      number = {1},
      pages = {25-29},
      doi = {10.11648/cajph.20241001.14},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/cajph.20241001.14},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.cajph.20241001.14},
      abstract = {Background: Obesity is progressively taking on the characteristics of an epidemic, and Nigeria has its own share from this trend. Obesity increases the risk of a number of illnesses, including type 2 diabetes mellitus, stroke, coronary heart disease, and other atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases. This study is aimed at determining and discussing the prevalence of obesity among adults 18–87 years in Rumuomasi community, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. Methods: A total of 199 adults between 18 and 87 years of age participated in this cross-sectional community based study using convenience sampling. Anthropometric variables were obtained and Body Mass Index (BMI) categorized according to World Health Organization (WHO) classification. Data was analyzed by descriptive and inferential analysis using Excel and STATA version 15.0. Results: The mean age for the participants was 49.43 ±15.67 years. There were more women (68.34%) than men (31.66%). The prevalence of obesity was 24.63% and there were more obese women (30.15%) than men (12.70%) in the population. The prevalence of overweight was also at 24.62%. Age (P=0.013) significantly influenced obesity as obesity was more prevalent in participant within 41-60 years old. Conclusion: The prevalence of obesity in this study was high (24.63%), this shows the need for regular community health education, awareness on healthy lifestyles, and regular health screening to control the rising prevalence of obesity.
    },
     year = {2024}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Obesity in Southern Nigeria: A Prevalence Study Among Adults in Rumuomasi, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria
    AU  - Chibuike Eze Nwafor
    AU  - Julius Edeogu
    AU  - Rosemary Stanley
    AU  - Blessing Enyichukwu
    AU  - Maxwell Ogomegbunam
    Y1  - 2024/02/05
    PY  - 2024
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/cajph.20241001.14
    DO  - 10.11648/cajph.20241001.14
    T2  - Central African Journal of Public Health
    JF  - Central African Journal of Public Health
    JO  - Central African Journal of Public Health
    SP  - 25
    EP  - 29
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2575-5781
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/cajph.20241001.14
    AB  - Background: Obesity is progressively taking on the characteristics of an epidemic, and Nigeria has its own share from this trend. Obesity increases the risk of a number of illnesses, including type 2 diabetes mellitus, stroke, coronary heart disease, and other atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases. This study is aimed at determining and discussing the prevalence of obesity among adults 18–87 years in Rumuomasi community, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. Methods: A total of 199 adults between 18 and 87 years of age participated in this cross-sectional community based study using convenience sampling. Anthropometric variables were obtained and Body Mass Index (BMI) categorized according to World Health Organization (WHO) classification. Data was analyzed by descriptive and inferential analysis using Excel and STATA version 15.0. Results: The mean age for the participants was 49.43 ±15.67 years. There were more women (68.34%) than men (31.66%). The prevalence of obesity was 24.63% and there were more obese women (30.15%) than men (12.70%) in the population. The prevalence of overweight was also at 24.62%. Age (P=0.013) significantly influenced obesity as obesity was more prevalent in participant within 41-60 years old. Conclusion: The prevalence of obesity in this study was high (24.63%), this shows the need for regular community health education, awareness on healthy lifestyles, and regular health screening to control the rising prevalence of obesity.
    
    VL  - 10
    IS  - 1
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of Medicine, University of Port Harcourt and University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

  • Department of Medicine, University of Port Harcourt and University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

  • Department of Medicine, University of Port Harcourt and University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

  • Research Unit, GoodHeart Medical Consultants, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

  • Research Unit, GoodHeart Medical Consultants, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

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