Assessment of Overweight and Obesity Prevalence Among Practicing Nurses and Midwives in the Hohoe Municipality of the Volta Region, Ghana

Charles Duodu; Thomas Kwasi Awuni; Prosper Attito; Francis Bruno Zotor

doi:doi:10.11648/j.sjph.20150306.18

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Assessment of Overweight and Obesity Prevalence Among Practicing Nurses and Midwives in the Hohoe Municipality of the Volta Region, Ghana

Charles Duodu, Thomas Kwasi Awuni, Prosper Attito, Francis Bruno Zotor

Received: 21 September 2015 Accepted: 7 October 2015 Published: 3 November 2015

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Abstract

Overweight and obesity describe an abnormal or excessive fat accumulation in the body that may impair health. They are associated with a greater risk of disability and premature death due to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and cardiovascular diseases (CVD) such as hypertension, stroke and coronary heart disease. Prevalence of overweight and obesity is increasing in various populations, and is becoming a huge problem among occupational or professional groups that are perceived as sedentary. The main objective of the study was to assess the prevalence and potential determinants of overweight and obesity among practicing nurses and midwives in the Hohoe Municipality of the Volta Region of Ghana. A cross-sectional analytical design was employed in this study, conducted from May to June 2015. One hundred and thirty five (n=135) eligible practicing nurses and midwives were selected using multi-stage sampling method based on probability proportionate to size (PPS). Anthropometric instruments were used to collect data such as weight, height, waist and hip circumferences; lifestyle and dietary habits; knowledge and perception of respondents on overweight and obesity were also collected. The data were entered and analysed statistically using SPSS, version 20. The ages of respondents ranged from 21 to 62 years with a mean age of 36.0 (SD 12.6) years old (χ2 = 10.4, P = .02). In terms of sex, 80.7% of respondents were females whereas 19.3% were males. Of all the respondents, 43.7% were married (χ2 = 2.9, P = .41), 96.3% were Christians (χ2 = 12.3, P < .001) and 77.8% were of the Ewe ethnic group (χ2 = 11.5, P =.04). The categories of the respondents were made up of 77.8% nurses and 22.2% midwives (Fisher’s exact = .001). Using the WHO criteria for Body Mass Index (BMI), the prevalence of overweight among respondents was 31.8% (6.7% males and 25.1% females) whereas 28.9% comprising only females were obese. Mean BMI of respondents was 27.2 (SD 5.5) kg/m2. Physical inactivity (Fisher’s exact =18.65, P < .001) and dietary habits such as eating late in the night (P < .010) were found in this study to be contributory factors to overweight and obesity. In total, 60.7% of respondents sampled were either overweight or obese. We suggest that health managers should pay special attention to nurses and midwives regarding prevention and control of overweight and obesity in order to curb serious implications on their health and productivity.

DOI	10.11648/j.sjph.20150306.18
Published in	Science Journal of Public Health (Volume 3, Issue 6, November 2015)
Page(s)	842-851
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

Prevalence, Overweight, Obesity, Nurse, Midwife, Hohoe Municipality

References

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Charles Duodu, Thomas Kwasi Awuni, Prosper Attito, Francis Bruno Zotor. (2015). Assessment of Overweight and Obesity Prevalence Among Practicing Nurses and Midwives in the Hohoe Municipality of the Volta Region, Ghana. Science Journal of Public Health, 3(6), 842-851. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20150306.18

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Charles Duodu; Thomas Kwasi Awuni; Prosper Attito; Francis Bruno Zotor. Assessment of Overweight and Obesity Prevalence Among Practicing Nurses and Midwives in the Hohoe Municipality of the Volta Region, Ghana. Sci. J. Public Health 2015, 3(6), 842-851. doi: 10.11648/j.sjph.20150306.18

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Charles Duodu, Thomas Kwasi Awuni, Prosper Attito, Francis Bruno Zotor. Assessment of Overweight and Obesity Prevalence Among Practicing Nurses and Midwives in the Hohoe Municipality of the Volta Region, Ghana. Sci J Public Health. 2015;3(6):842-851. doi: 10.11648/j.sjph.20150306.18

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@article{10.11648/j.sjph.20150306.18,
  author = {Charles Duodu and Thomas Kwasi Awuni and Prosper Attito and Francis Bruno Zotor},
  title = {Assessment of Overweight and Obesity Prevalence Among Practicing Nurses and Midwives in the Hohoe Municipality of the Volta Region, Ghana},
  journal = {Science Journal of Public Health},
  volume = {3},
  number = {6},
  pages = {842-851},
  doi = {10.11648/j.sjph.20150306.18},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20150306.18},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.sjph.20150306.18},
  abstract = {Overweight and obesity describe an abnormal or excessive fat accumulation in the body that may impair health. They are associated with a greater risk of disability and premature death due to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and cardiovascular diseases (CVD) such as hypertension, stroke and coronary heart disease. Prevalence of overweight and obesity is increasing in various populations, and is becoming a huge problem among occupational or professional groups that are perceived as sedentary. The main objective of the study was to assess the prevalence and potential determinants of overweight and obesity among practicing nurses and midwives in the Hohoe Municipality of the Volta Region of Ghana. A cross-sectional analytical design was employed in this study, conducted from May to June 2015. One hundred and thirty five (n=135) eligible practicing nurses and midwives were selected using multi-stage sampling method based on probability proportionate to size (PPS). Anthropometric instruments were used to collect data such as weight, height, waist and hip circumferences; lifestyle and dietary habits; knowledge and perception of respondents on overweight and obesity were also collected. The data were entered and analysed statistically using SPSS, version 20. The ages of respondents ranged from 21 to 62 years with a mean age of 36.0 (SD 12.6) years old (χ2 = 10.4, P = .02). In terms of sex, 80.7% of respondents were females whereas 19.3% were males. Of all the respondents, 43.7% were married (χ2 = 2.9, P = .41), 96.3% were Christians (χ2 = 12.3, P P =.04). The categories of the respondents were made up of 77.8% nurses and 22.2% midwives (Fisher’s exact = .001). Using the WHO criteria for Body Mass Index (BMI), the prevalence of overweight among respondents was 31.8% (6.7% males and 25.1% females) whereas 28.9% comprising only females were obese. Mean BMI of respondents was 27.2 (SD 5.5) kg/m2. Physical inactivity (Fisher’s exact =18.65, P P < .010) were found in this study to be contributory factors to overweight and obesity. In total, 60.7% of respondents sampled were either overweight or obese. We suggest that health managers should pay special attention to nurses and midwives regarding prevention and control of overweight and obesity in order to curb serious implications on their health and productivity.},
 year = {2015}
}

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TY - JOUR
T1 - Assessment of Overweight and Obesity Prevalence Among Practicing Nurses and Midwives in the Hohoe Municipality of the Volta Region, Ghana
AU - Charles Duodu
AU - Thomas Kwasi Awuni
AU - Prosper Attito
AU - Francis Bruno Zotor
Y1 - 2015/11/03
PY - 2015
N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20150306.18
DO - 10.11648/j.sjph.20150306.18
T2 - Science Journal of Public Health
JF - Science Journal of Public Health
JO - Science Journal of Public Health
SP - 842
EP - 851
PB - Science Publishing Group
SN - 2328-7950
UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20150306.18
AB - Overweight and obesity describe an abnormal or excessive fat accumulation in the body that may impair health. They are associated with a greater risk of disability and premature death due to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and cardiovascular diseases (CVD) such as hypertension, stroke and coronary heart disease. Prevalence of overweight and obesity is increasing in various populations, and is becoming a huge problem among occupational or professional groups that are perceived as sedentary. The main objective of the study was to assess the prevalence and potential determinants of overweight and obesity among practicing nurses and midwives in the Hohoe Municipality of the Volta Region of Ghana. A cross-sectional analytical design was employed in this study, conducted from May to June 2015. One hundred and thirty five (n=135) eligible practicing nurses and midwives were selected using multi-stage sampling method based on probability proportionate to size (PPS). Anthropometric instruments were used to collect data such as weight, height, waist and hip circumferences; lifestyle and dietary habits; knowledge and perception of respondents on overweight and obesity were also collected. The data were entered and analysed statistically using SPSS, version 20. The ages of respondents ranged from 21 to 62 years with a mean age of 36.0 (SD 12.6) years old (χ2 = 10.4, P = .02). In terms of sex, 80.7% of respondents were females whereas 19.3% were males. Of all the respondents, 43.7% were married (χ2 = 2.9, P = .41), 96.3% were Christians (χ2 = 12.3, P P =.04). The categories of the respondents were made up of 77.8% nurses and 22.2% midwives (Fisher’s exact = .001). Using the WHO criteria for Body Mass Index (BMI), the prevalence of overweight among respondents was 31.8% (6.7% males and 25.1% females) whereas 28.9% comprising only females were obese. Mean BMI of respondents was 27.2 (SD 5.5) kg/m2. Physical inactivity (Fisher’s exact =18.65, P P < .010) were found in this study to be contributory factors to overweight and obesity. In total, 60.7% of respondents sampled were either overweight or obese. We suggest that health managers should pay special attention to nurses and midwives regarding prevention and control of overweight and obesity in order to curb serious implications on their health and productivity.
VL - 3
IS - 6
ER -

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Author Information

Charles Duodu

Department of Family and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho, Volta region, Ghana; Ghana Health Service, Volta Regional Health Directorate, Ho, Volta region, Ghana
Thomas Kwasi Awuni

Department of Family and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho, Volta region, Ghana; Ghana Health Service, Agona East District Health Directorate, Agona-Nsaba, Central region, Ghana
Prosper Attito

Department of Family and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho, Volta region, Ghana; Ghana Health Service, North Dayi District Health Directorate, Anfoega, Volta region, Ghana
Francis Bruno Zotor

Department of Family and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho, Volta region, Ghana

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APA Style

Charles Duodu, Thomas Kwasi Awuni, Prosper Attito, Francis Bruno Zotor. (2015). Assessment of Overweight and Obesity Prevalence Among Practicing Nurses and Midwives in the Hohoe Municipality of the Volta Region, Ghana. Science Journal of Public Health, 3(6), 842-851. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20150306.18

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ACS Style

Charles Duodu; Thomas Kwasi Awuni; Prosper Attito; Francis Bruno Zotor. Assessment of Overweight and Obesity Prevalence Among Practicing Nurses and Midwives in the Hohoe Municipality of the Volta Region, Ghana. Sci. J. Public Health 2015, 3(6), 842-851. doi: 10.11648/j.sjph.20150306.18

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AMA Style

Charles Duodu, Thomas Kwasi Awuni, Prosper Attito, Francis Bruno Zotor. Assessment of Overweight and Obesity Prevalence Among Practicing Nurses and Midwives in the Hohoe Municipality of the Volta Region, Ghana. Sci J Public Health. 2015;3(6):842-851. doi: 10.11648/j.sjph.20150306.18

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@article{10.11648/j.sjph.20150306.18,
  author = {Charles Duodu and Thomas Kwasi Awuni and Prosper Attito and Francis Bruno Zotor},
  title = {Assessment of Overweight and Obesity Prevalence Among Practicing Nurses and Midwives in the Hohoe Municipality of the Volta Region, Ghana},
  journal = {Science Journal of Public Health},
  volume = {3},
  number = {6},
  pages = {842-851},
  doi = {10.11648/j.sjph.20150306.18},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20150306.18},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.sjph.20150306.18},
  abstract = {Overweight and obesity describe an abnormal or excessive fat accumulation in the body that may impair health. They are associated with a greater risk of disability and premature death due to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and cardiovascular diseases (CVD) such as hypertension, stroke and coronary heart disease. Prevalence of overweight and obesity is increasing in various populations, and is becoming a huge problem among occupational or professional groups that are perceived as sedentary. The main objective of the study was to assess the prevalence and potential determinants of overweight and obesity among practicing nurses and midwives in the Hohoe Municipality of the Volta Region of Ghana. A cross-sectional analytical design was employed in this study, conducted from May to June 2015. One hundred and thirty five (n=135) eligible practicing nurses and midwives were selected using multi-stage sampling method based on probability proportionate to size (PPS). Anthropometric instruments were used to collect data such as weight, height, waist and hip circumferences; lifestyle and dietary habits; knowledge and perception of respondents on overweight and obesity were also collected. The data were entered and analysed statistically using SPSS, version 20. The ages of respondents ranged from 21 to 62 years with a mean age of 36.0 (SD 12.6) years old (χ2 = 10.4, P = .02). In terms of sex, 80.7% of respondents were females whereas 19.3% were males. Of all the respondents, 43.7% were married (χ2 = 2.9, P = .41), 96.3% were Christians (χ2 = 12.3, P P =.04). The categories of the respondents were made up of 77.8% nurses and 22.2% midwives (Fisher’s exact = .001). Using the WHO criteria for Body Mass Index (BMI), the prevalence of overweight among respondents was 31.8% (6.7% males and 25.1% females) whereas 28.9% comprising only females were obese. Mean BMI of respondents was 27.2 (SD 5.5) kg/m2. Physical inactivity (Fisher’s exact =18.65, P P < .010) were found in this study to be contributory factors to overweight and obesity. In total, 60.7% of respondents sampled were either overweight or obese. We suggest that health managers should pay special attention to nurses and midwives regarding prevention and control of overweight and obesity in order to curb serious implications on their health and productivity.},
 year = {2015}
}

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