Letamo, G.(Cambridge University Press; www.cambridge.org, NaN, 2011)
[more]
[less]
Abstract:
The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of, and socio-demographic
factors associated with, overweight and obesity in Botswana. A
cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2007 using a multistage sampling method to select a representative sample of 4107 men and 4916 women aged
20–49 years. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify the socio-demographic
factors associated with overweight and obesity. Mean BMI
values for men and women were 21.7 kg/m2 and 24.4 kg/m2, respectively.
Both overweight and obesity levels were higher among women than men. Overall, 23% of women were overweight compared with 13% of men. Obese women constituted about 15% compared with only 3% of men. However, 19% of men were underweight compared with 12% of women. The main
socio-demographic factors associated with overweight and obesity were being
older, living in a city/town, being married and having attained higher levels of education, and these relationships were statistically significant at the 5% level. Although over-nutrition is prevalent among adult female Batswana,
underweight remains an important public health problem for males. Programmes
and other interventions aimed at concurrently addressing both
under-nutrition and overweight need to be developed.