Prevalence of overweight and obesity for urban adults in Cameroon.

BACKGROUND: The emergence of a nutrition transition in developing countries might lead to higher prevalence of obesity and related adverse health effects. In Cameroon,urbanization growth rate is one of the highest in sub-Saharan Africa. Such dramatic demographic change favours important modifications, notably in nutritional patterns.

AIM: In this paper we examine the current prevalence of overweight and obesity in Yaounde,the capital city of Cameroon and search for possible causal factors. Detrimental consequences of overweight are also discussed.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: Samples of adults (519 women, 252 men) of all ages in all districts of Yaounde were subjected to anthropometric and body composition measurements, blood pressure and resting heart rate determination, and interviewer-administered questionnaires on socio-demography, smoking habits, physical activity, self-perception of body weight and health status.

RESULTS: In both sexes body mass index (BMI) increases with age and peaks in the years of maturity. These changes are related to changes in adiposity. Prevalence rates of overweight(BMI >or= 25) and obesity (BMI > or = 30) increase from 20 to 29 years and peak at 40-49 years in men and at 50-59 years in women before starting to decline. One woman in two is overweight and one woman in five is obese, whereas one-third of men are overweight and only 5% are obese. Obese subjects have a larger age-adjusted waist to hip ratio(WHR) than their non-overweight counterparts, attesting that fat gain is oriented towards a more abdominal fat mass distribution. The length of residence in Yaounde, increasing education level, occupation, ethnicity, physical inactivity and smoking practices appear to influence early overweight and/or obesity. No parity effect is observed in women. From the present study, it appears that obesity, and especially obesity in women, could be less benign than that described in other studies in Africa.

CONCLUSION: Research is needed in Cameroon, including aetiological and cohort studies aimed at the quantification of morbidity and mortality risks associated with overweight and obesity.