Determinants of overweight and obesity among adults in Ekpoma, Esan West Edo-State, Nigeria

Introduction: Overweight and obesity is a major cause of weight related health risks linked to morbidity and mortality. In terms of number of deaths, they are rated as the sixth most essential threat issue in the world turning out to be a major public health challenge globally. This epidemic problem is not restricted to only developed countries. It is also one of the major public health problems in developing countries such as Nigeria. Thus, understanding the determinants of overweight and obesity is an imperative requirement for designing appropriate polices and effective health promotion programs aiming at the reduction of overweight and obesity among people in Nigeria.Aims and objectives: This research aimed to identify the prevalence, factors associated and predictors of overweight and obesity among adult population in Ekpoma Esan West Edo- State, Nigeria. Methodology: This was a cross-sectional study among adult community from an urban area in Edo state, Nigeria. A self-administered and researcher-administered questionnaire was used, consisting of seven sections namely: socio-demography, cultural perception of weight, psychological, perceived environment, frequency of eating outside, physical activity and height and weight measurements for calculation of body mass index. Data was analysed by descriptive, bivariate and multivariate analysis using SPSS statistical software application. Results: The study had a total number of 445 respondents with a response rate of 99.8%. It was observed that among the respondents 32.8% were overweight and 27.9 % were obese. Most of the respondents were between the age group of 18-44 (69.2%), female were more among respondents (51.2%), (50.8%) were single, it was also noted that (72.1%) of respondents originated from Edo ethnic group and majority of respondents had tertiary level of education (81.8%). Age, gender, marital status, ethnicity, occupation, monthly income, cultural perception of weight and perceived environment were significantly associated with overweight and obesity (P<0.05). The predictors of overweight and obesity were marital status (AOR = 0.238, 95% CI = 0.143-0.398), occupation (AOR = 2.694, 95% CI = 1.619-4.483) and cultural perception of weight (AOR = 0.520, 95% CI = 0.332-0.814). Conclusion: The findings of this study revealed that majority of the respondents in Ekpoma community had high prevalence of overweight and obesity. Marital status, occupation and cultural perception of weight were the significant predictors of overweight and obesity, which signifies their importance. The determinants identified in this study if accompanied with quality of health care services can serve as additional information to aid in the interventions that would help in the reduction of overweight and obesity.

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