Baseline anthropometric measurements and obesity of people working in Isale-Oko, Sagamu, Ogun State, Southwest, Nigeria

Abstract

Objectives: It is uncertain anthropometric measurements are affected by the type of job an individual is doing in an environment. Therefore, this study was designed to assess the baseline anthropometric measurements with relation to obesity of people working at a motor park in Sagamu. Design: This is a cross-sectional study of 139 individuals working in the motor park of Isale-Oko, Sagamu, aged 20–70 years. Passengers were exempted. The weight in kg and height in meters of each participant were measured. The waist circumference (cm) (WC), hip circumference (cm) (HC), and thigh circumference (cm) of each participant were measured using a flexible tape. The waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) was calculated. The body mass indexes (BMI) (kg/m2) and the waist-to-thigh ratio were calculated. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistic and ANOVA. Results: The occupational distributions include the drivers, conductors, traders, and garage staff. Young participants contribute to 60.4% of the study populations. There were 64.3% young participants among the conductors, 63.2% of the drivers, 64.8% of the traders, and 40% of the garage staff. The mean BMI of the drivers showed that they tend to be obese (30.85 ± 0.66 kg/m2). Conductors tend to be overweight with BMI of 26.57 ± 0.60 kg/m2. The WC of drivers was significantly highest among the occupational groups 98.82 ± 1.75 cm, while the conductors had the least WC 94.38 ± 2.87 cm. The traders had the highest HC 106.31 ± 1.88 cm. The drivers and conductors had the highest WHR of 0.96 ± 0.03 and 0.92 ± 0.01, respectively. Conclusions: The anthropometric parameter measurements of individual participants obtained from this study can be used as baseline for the future study. The high BMI and WC in drivers and high HC in traders increase the risk of developing diabetes mellitus.