PREVALENCE AND FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH OBESITY AMONG NEWLY ADMITTED UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN, NIGERIA

Abstract

Obesity is an unhealthy excess of body fat which increases the risk of medical illness and premature mortality. Overweight and obesity are the fifth leading risk for global death. They impact on co-morbidity and constitute major risk factors for a number of chronic diseases such as hypertension, cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Adolescents and young adults are susceptible to obesity in the transition stages of childhood/adolescence to adulthood. The university which is known for its level of independence exposes students to take up unguided lifestyles that could be detrimental to their health. Therefore, the findings from this research work stand to help advocate and emphasize the need for early identification and referral of overweight and obese students for control. The purpose of this study is to determine the prevalence and factors associated with overweight and obesity among newly admitted undergraduate students at the University of Ibadan. The study was conducted in the University of Ibadan. A cross-sectional study design was used. A 3-stage sampling technique was used to randomly select 546 I 00Level undergraduates' students across the departments. Using a semi- structured questionnaire, information on the socio-economic status of both students and their parents were obtained, anthropometric measurements to determine Body Mass Index and Waist Circumference were carried out. Participants included 44.9% males and 54.9% females. Overall, the prevalence of overweight and obesity was 15% and 5.5%, respectively. Females were more overweight and obese (18% and 8%, respectively) compared to the males (11.4% and 2.4%, respectively). After adjusting for other factors, gender, and family history of overweight/obesity were predictors of obesity among the students at multivariate analysis. Females were four times more likely than males to be obese (OR: 3.45; 95% Cl: 1.39 - 8.57), those who had family history of overweight and obesity were three times more likely to be obese (OR: 3 .04; 95% CI: 1.16 - 7.95) The study revealed that gender, family history of overweight are potent predictors of obesity. Effective utilization of a curriculum on nutrition education will help to improve students' knowledge about nutrition, promote healthy body and weight management among students and reduce the prevalence of overweight and obesity.