Aims: To define the prevalence of hypertension, a major cause of morbidity and mortality in blacks, and related biosocial factors in an urban African population group. Methods: The setting was that of a civil service population in Ibadan, a major city in Southwestern Nigeria. Nine hundred and ninety-eight civil servants selected by multistage sampling participated in the survey. Biosocial data including smoking history, alcohol use and level of physical activity; anthropometry, blood pressure and plasma glucose measurements were obtained. Diagnosis of hypertension was based on blood pressure of у160/95 mm Hg or known hypertensive on treatment. Results: The overall prevalence rate of hypertension was 10.3% (CI, 8.4%, 12.2%), rates of 13.9% and 5.3% were obtained in men and women respectively in spite of a much higher rate of generalised obesity in the latter. Hypertension was associated with higher salary grade level, but there was no relationship found with regular exercise, smoking and alcohol. Obesity (body mass index (BMI) у30 kg/m 2 ) was associated with hypertension only in women. A two-sided t-test demonstrated

Obesity is increasingly a major health problem in parts of the developing world. It has reached epidemic proportions among Africans living in the Western Hemisphere; similar potential may exist in urban Africa. We explored this possibility in an urban setting in Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation. A screening survey was carried out among randomly selected 998 civil servants, 581 men and 417 women, in Ibadan, a major Nigerian city. Biographical data were collected using standardized questionnaires, and measurements of anthropometric indices, blood pressures and plasma glucose concentration. Obesity and overweight were defined by body mass index based on international criteria. Prevalence of obesity was 8.82% (confidence interval [CI]=7.13%, 10.75%), overweight 17.45% (CI=15.12%, 19.95%), and overweight plus obesity=26.18% (CI=23.47%, 29.03%). Prevalence of obesity among the women was 17.27% (CI=13.76%, 21.24%) and for men 2.75% (CI=1.58%, 4.43%). Among the women 42% were obese or overweight compared with 15% of the male population. Obesity and overweight were associated with higher socioeconomic status. Prevalence of obesity and overweight in the study population is comparable to rates seen in many industrialized countries, and rapidly emerging urbanized populations in Africa.