BackgroundAnthropometric measures have been widely used for body weight classification in humans. Waist circumference has been advanced as a useful parameter for measuring adiposity. This study evaluated the correlation between body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference and examined their significance as indicators of health status in adults.Design and methodsThe subject included 489 healthy adults from Ota, Nigeria, aged between 20 and 75 years, grouped into early adulthood (20-39 years), middle adulthood (40-59 years) and advanced adulthood (60 years and above). Weight, height and abdominal circumference were measured. BMI was calculated as weight kg/height2 (m2) and World Health Organization cut-offs were used to categorize them into normal, underweight, overweight and obese.ResultsAbnormal weight categories accounted for 60 % of the subjects (underweight 11 %, overweight 31%, and obese 18%). The waist circumference of overweight and obese categories were significantly (P<0.05) higher than the normal weight category. There was no significant difference between waist circumference of underweight and normal subjects. The correlation coefficient values of BMI with waist circumference (r=0.63), body weight (r=0.76) and height (r=-0.31) were significant (P<0.01) for the total subjects.ConclusionsThe study indicates that waist circumference can serve as a positive indicator of overweight and obesity in the selected communities; however, it may not be used to determine underweight in adults. Regular BMI and waist circumference screening is recommended as an easy and effective means of assessing body weight and in the prevention of weight related diseases in adults.Significance for public healthThis manuscript describes the correlation between body mass index, waist circumference and body weight of two communities in Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria and the use of these anthropometric measures for body weight classification in human populations of the selected communities. This was carried out to evaluate the health status of the indigenes of the two communities for proper health awareness and public health intervention programmes.

Ternary thin films of Iron Copper Sulphide were grown on glass substrate using cheap and simple solution growth technique with EDTA, TEA and NH 3 as complexing agents. The deposited films were characterized using PYE-UNICO-UV-2102 PC Spectrophotometer and optical microscopy. The optical properties considered revealed high absorbance and reflectance but low transmittance in the UV; low values of absorbance and reflectance accompanied with high transmittance in the VIS. Over all, the absorptive coefficient ranged from 0. , the extinction coefficient ranged from 0.005 to 0.038, its direct band gap ranged from 2.4eV to 2.8eV, the indirect band gap ranged from 0.6eV to 1.0eV and its complex dielectric constant from (1.4 + j 0.005) to (5.2 + j 0.136). These properties suggest that the films are suitable for solar cell applications.

The relationship between some meteorological parameters and ozone distributions as revealed by satellite EPTOM over four West African stations namely, Lagos (Nigeria), Dakar (Senegal) Lamto (Ivory Coast) and Ekona (Cameroon) was studied for the period 1997 to 2002. The mean ozone concentration over these stations for the period were 270.8±0.3DU at Lagos, 264.9±0.3DU at Dakar, 269.8±0.3DU and 269.0±03DU at Lamto and Ekona respectively. The average monthly maximum ozone concentration of 288.6DU and 285.1DU respectively were observed for Lagos and Dakar, between July and August, which coincided with the period of tropical summer rainfall over the West African region. This coincidence could be attributed to reduction in the effect of the extra-tropical suction pump (ETSP) action responsible for the transportation of ozone concentration from the tropical stratosphere into the mid and high latitudinal region. This reduction may be due to decrease in the atmospheric heat engine expected to drive the ETSP, asthe tropical surface temperature and evaporation are at their minimum during the raining season. The surface temperature and evaporation at Lagos-Nigeria both had significant negative correlation values of -0.73 and -0.68 with the ozone concentration respectively.

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