Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity, and Its Associated Factors Among Health-care Workers, Teachers, and Bankers in Arusha City, Tanzania

Abstract

Background Tanzania is one of the developing countries experiencing an increasing trend of overweight and obesity among adults. Working adults have been identified as a high-risk group more exposed to the predictors of overweight and obesity than the general population. However, limited studies have been done in this group. This study aimed to identify the prevalence of overweight and obesity and its associated risk factors among health-care workers, teachers, and bankers in Arusha city council. Subjects and Methods A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among health-care workers, teachers, and bankers. A total of 305 working adults aged 18–60 years participated in the study. A modified World Health Organization (WHO) STEPwise approach for chronic disease risk factor surveillance was used to collect data about socio-demographic characteristics, lifestyle behaviors, dietary practices and anthropometric measurement. The Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ) was used to collect information about level of physical activities. The anthropometric measurement and level of physical activities were calculated and ranked according to WHO guidelines. Results Overall, 68.9% (31.1% overweight and 37.8% obese) of working adults were overweight or obese. Age (adjusted odds ratio [AOR=7.73; 95% CI: 1.93–30.87]), gender (AOR=2.60; 95% CI: 1.30–5.21), marital status (AOR=2.47; 95% CI: 1.11–5.50), years spent with the current institution (AOR=4.59; 95% CI: 1.38–17.80), using private car or public transport to and from work (AOR=2.43; 95% CI: 1.10–5.39) and sedentary work (AOR=2.43; 95% CI: 1.04–5.71), were significant factors associated with overweight or obesity. Conclusion The study identified a higher prevalence of overweight and obesity in Tanzania compared with previous studies. The results from this study are useful for the education sector, financial institutions and health sector on designing workplace wellness programs to reduce the burden of overweight and obesity among this working category.

Relationship of Obesity with Lifestyle and Comorbidities in Public School Teachers—A Cross-Sectional Study

“…The prevalence of obesity in the present study was more than twice as high as the global prevalence in the adult population (30.1 vs. 13.0%) and this warming finding will need to be further analyzed for determinants investigation. This elevated prevalence of obesity in the present study was in line with previous findings from Zubery et al [27], where the prevalence of obesity among 305 Tanzanian health-workers, teachers and bankers reached 37.8%, and teachers presented a prevalence of overweight/obesity of 62.6%, similarly of present study (~60% when considering overweight/obesity). A study from Lizana et al [28] involving 70 Chilean rural teachers also reported an elevated prevalence of obesity (25.7%), but lower than present study findings.…”

Nutrition Behavior and Body Mass Index in Tanzania. Survey from a Cancer Prevention and Awareness Campaign in Northern Tanzania, 2019‪-‬ 2020‬‬‬‬

“…In countries with routine, effective prevention and early detection programs, cancer incidence and mortality rates have declined precipitously over the last half century [7].…”

Prevalence, Associated Socio-demographic Variables, and Health Conditions of Overweight and Obesity among Nurses in a Tertiary Health Institution in North-West Nigeria

“…Other studies have projected that fifty percent of the population will be affected by obesity and overweight by 2030 [7,10]. The projected overweight persons among persons aged 15 years or more in Nigeria was 20.9 million in 2020, with an age-adjusted prevalence of 20.3%, and obese persons were estimated at 12 million, accounting for 11.6% among person's age15 years or more with prevalence considerably higher among women [11].…”

“…Nigeria is perhaps depicted to be the most affected country in Sub Sahara Africa [15]. The WHO 2010 survey on Nigeria shows that the prevalence of overweight in the country was 37% and 26% [16], while obesity was lower at 8% and 3%, among women and men and a recent study by [11] reported that the prevalence rates of overweight and obesity in Nigeria were 25.0% and 14.3% from 35 studies. The prevalence in women was higher compared to men at 25.5% versus 25.2% for overweight and 19.8% versus 12.9% for obesity.…”

“…Obesity and overweight epidemic high burden in Nigeria have also been associated with rising income, urbanization, unhealthy lifestyles, and consumption of highly processed diets [11], lack of or low levels of physical activity, unhealthy diets, socioeconomic changes, and psychosocial factors [15]. By considering the profession, a higher prevalence of overweight or obesity was found among bankers (77.7%) compared with health care workers 68.9% and teachers 62.6% [11].…”