Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices regarding Obesity among Population of Urban (Douala) and Rural (Manjo) Areas in Cameroon.

Abstract

Knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) studies have recently been suggested as a useful tool to understand the specificity of the population related to a disease. However, in Cameroon, there is a lack of information based on KAP studies regarding obesity. This study has been designed to collect basic indicators on the KAP of the populations regarding overweight and obesity in urban and rural areas in Cameroon (Douala and Manjo). For this purpose, an epidemiological community-based cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in these two areas using a well-structured questionnaire. Sociodemographic and medical characteristics and KAP information were assessed. For the quantification of KAP, a score varying from 0 (poor knowledge, attitude, or practices) to 100 (good knowledge, attitude, or practices) was attributed for each question. Correlations between knowledge, attitude, and practice were determined using inferential statistics tests which were χ2 test, independent Student t-test, ANOVA (followed by Tukey's post hoc test), and Pearson correlation coefficient. Results reveal that living in a rural area (Manjo), being overweight or obese, having complete secondary education, and being married increase the knowledge and the practice score. There is a strong and positive correlation between knowledge and practice score. However, there is no association between attitude and practice and between attitude and knowledge. Reducing the disparities between knowledge, attitude, and practices constitutes a serious track in a holistic strategy for the management of obesity in these areas.