Volume 31, Issue S1 p. 976.8-976.8
Pathology
Free Access

Incidence of Obesity among Employees in a Nigerian University

Opeyemi C. Emiloju,

Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science and Technology, Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria

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Shalom N. Chinedu,

Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science and Technology, Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria

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Franklyn N Iheagwam,

Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science and Technology, Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria

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Micheal Onuoha,

Covenant University Medical Centre, Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria

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Abstract

Obesity has been on the increase worldwide and is presently recognized as one of the major health problem of our time. Obesity, usually exemplified by an increase in body fat at adipose tissue site, increases the risk of developing chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and cancer. This study examined the prevalence of overweight and obesity among employees in a Nigerian University. A total of 727 subjects (280 females and 447 males), aged 20–78 with the age bracket 20–39, 40–59; ≥ 60 and above took part in this study. The weight and height of subjects were taken using standard measuring kit. The Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated as weight per square of height (kg/m2) and WHO cut off was used to categorize the BMI of subjects into underweight, normal weight, overweight and obesity. The prevalence of underweight, normal weight, overweight and obesity among subjects include 1.65%, 35.49%, 31.50% and 31.36% respectively. Among the female subjects, the prevalence of underweight, normal weight, overweight and obesity was calculated to be 1.07%, 29.29%, 27.14% and 42.5% respectively while that of the male subjects was calculated to be 2.01%, 39.37%, 34.23% and 24.38% respectively. The study showed that over 60% of the subjects are overweight or obese. The incidence of obesity was observed to be higher among female subjects than among male subjects. The result of the study suggest a need for regular weight checks among employees in Nigeria in order to encourage necessary prevention strategies against obesity and its related diseases.

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