Overweight and obesity in south central Uganda: A population-based study

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Epidemiology
• Global Health

Background:

• Obesity presents a growing global health challenge.
• Population-level data on obesity in non-urban sub-Saharan Africa are scarce.
• Understanding prevalence and risk factors in diverse settings is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity in non-urban Ugandan adults.
• To identify factors associated with overweight and obesity in this population.
• To inform targeted public health interventions.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study using data from the Rakai Community Cohort Study (May 2018-Nov 2020).
• Inclusion of 18,079 participants aged 15-49 years from fishing, trading, and agrarian communities.
• Modified Poisson regression to calculate adjusted prevalence risk ratios (PRR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI).

Main Results:

• Overall prevalence of overweight was 22.8% and obesity was 6.2%.
• Females exhibited a significantly higher probability of overweight/obesity (PRR: 4.11) compared to males.
• Key risk factors identified included increasing age, higher socioeconomic status, specific community types (trading/fishing), marital status, certain occupations, and alcohol use.

Conclusions:

• Substantial prevalence of overweight and obesity exists in non-urban Ugandan populations.
• Specific subgroups, including females, older individuals, and those in particular socioeconomic and occupational groups, are at higher risk.
• Targeted interventions are needed to address overweight and obesity in these high-risk populations.