Central Obesity and Associated Factors among Public Service Employees in Adama Town in Ethiopia

Abstract

Introduction: The prevalence of obesity is rapidly increasing, contributing to 678 million obese adults and rapidly increasing in lower-income countries. This study assessed the magnitude of central obesity and associated factors among public service office employees in Adama Town in the Oromia Region in Ethiopia. Methods An institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted from January 1 to February 26, 2020, among 590 public service employees. The data were collected by using interviewer-administered questionnaires and anthropometric measurements. The data were coded, entered, cleaned, and entered into Epi Info version 7, and subsequently exported to SPSS version 26 for statistical analysis. Binary logistic regression was used to check the associations between the explanatory and outcome variables. The adjusted odds ratio at a 95% confidence interval was used to estimate the strength of associations. A P value < 0.05 indicated statistical significance. Results The overall prevalence of central obesity among public service office employees was 24.2% (95% CI: 20.9, 27.8), with 29.9% in males and 14.9% in females. The multivariate analysis showed that using motorized transportation (AOR = 2.26, 95% CI = 1.147, 4.459), eating food out of the home (AOR = 1.72, 95% CI = 1.089, 2.735), drinking alcohol (AOR = 1.81, 95% CI = 1.080, 3.038), being aged 33–42 years (AOR = 4.76, 95% CI = 2.513, 9.047), 43–52 years (AOR = 5.56, 95% CI = 2.850, 10.878) and 53 years and above (AOR = 13.25, 95% CI = 5.057, 34.747), not engaging in moderate physical activity (AOR = 2.34, 95% CI = 1.507, 3.653) and having a chronic illness (AOR = 1.92, 95% CI = 1.154, 3.200) were statistically associated with central obesity among public service office employees in the study area. Conclusion Nearly 25% of public service employees in the town had central obesity, which is a risk factor for metabolic syndromes. Mode of transportation, eating food out of home, drinking alcohol, age, level of physical activity, and presence of chronic illnesses were found to be independent predictors of central obesity. The public administration in the town should design a feasible preventive strategy to reduce the burden of obesity among public service employees in the study setting.