Prevalence and Determinants for Overweight and Obesity among Residents of a Mining Township in Kitwe, Zambia, in 2011: A population-based Survey

Background: Obesity and overweight in Africa have been attributed to demogra- phic and nutritional changes that have resulted from urbanization and sedentary lifestyles and increased caloric intake without much physical activities. This has put populations at an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases, Diabetes mellitus, osteoarthritis, dyslipidemia, and cancer. The objective of this study was to deter- mine the prevalence and associated factors for combined overweight and obesity among residents of a mining town, Kitwe, in Zambia. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted using a modified WHO glo- bal Non Communicable Diseases Surveillance Initiative STEPs 1 and 2 method of data collection. Proportions of study participants (25 years or older) who were overweight or obese were calculated. Logistic regression analyses were performed to determine associations between selected exposure variables and overweight/ obesity. Findings: A total of 1627 individuals participated in the survey, of which 42.3% were males. About half of the participants were of age 25-34 years (56.0%), and 41.7% had attained secondary level of education. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 24.7% (21.0% among males and 27.3% among females, p=0.005) and 16.9% (8.0% among males and 23.5% among females, p\u3c0.001), respectively. In multivariate analysis, age, sex, education level, sedentary lifestyle, smoking and blood pressure were significantly associated with overweight and obesity. Conclusions: Healthy living through an intensive, comprehensive public health education and sensitization should be promoted in terms of regular exercises