Prevalence and Factors Associated with Grade of Obesity in Selected Health Areas in Yaoundé: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: According to the WHO, obesity is an abnormal or excessive accumulation of body fat that poses a health risk. It is a major public health problem with growing numbers (1,400,000,000 overweight adults and more than 500,000,000 obese). Every year, there are at least 2,800,000 associated deaths. The prevalence of obesity in Africa is above 61% in the adult population. Despite control strategies, obesity is still a real problem in Cameroon. Methodology: This study aimed to determine the relationship between various risk factors and the prevalence of different grades of obesity in selected health areas in Yaounde. This work consisted of a descriptive cross-sectional study carried out in Yaoundé, in Central Cameroon. Data were collected via a questionnaire administered face-to-face to obese patients in the target hospitals and the anthropometric parameters of these were determined. These data were analyzed using CSPRO 7.1 and SPSS 21.0 software. Results: The total number of participants in this study was 267 patients, most of whom were women (82.4%). The predominant type of obesity was moderate obesity; its frequency was 53%, followed by severe obesity, 37%. The factors associated with all grades of obesity were female gender (73% moderate obesity, 89% severe obesity, 100% morbid obesity), and genetic factors (54.6% moderate obesity, 73.5% severe obesity, 54.6% morbid obesity). Age was associated with moderate obesity: the age group most affected by moderate obesity was 55–65 years (37.5%). Conclusion: These results show that it is of paramount importance to reeducate the population on diet and lifestyle to prevent obesity, including among genetically predisposed people and even women, whatever their conditions (Menopause, multipara).