Association between socioeconomic status and adiposity in urban Cameroon

• Published in: International journal of epidemiology Vol. 35; no. 1; pp. 105 - 111
• Main Authors: Fezeu, Leopold, Minkoulou, Etienne, Balkau, Beverley, Kengne, André-Pascal, Awah, Paschal, Unwin, Nigel, Alberti, George KMM, Mbanya, Jean-Claude
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Oxford University Press 01.02.2006; Oxford Publishing Limited (England); Oxford University Press (OUP)
• Subjects: abdominal obesity; Adult; Body Composition; Body Mass Index; Cameroon; Developing Countries; Female; Humans; Life Sciences; Life Style; Male; Middle Aged; Multivariate Analysis; Obesity; Obesity - etiology; Occupations; overweight; Pilot Projects; Santé publique et épidémiologie; Social Class; Socioeconomic status; Urban Population; Cameroon
• ISSN: 0300-5771; 1464-3685
• DOI: 10.1093/ije/dyi214

Background As the relation between socioeconomic status (SES) and obesity may depend on the stage of development of a country, this relation is assessed in adults from urban Cameroon. Methods A sample comprising 1530 women and 1301 men aged 25 years and above, from 1897 households in the Biyem-Assi health area in the capital of Cameroon, Yaoundé, were interviewed about their household amenities, occupation, and education. Weight, height, and waist circumference were measured and subjects were classified as obese if their BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 or overweight if BMI was between 25.0 and 29.9 kg/m2. Abdominal obesity was defined by a waist circumference ≥80 cm in women and ≥94 cm in men. Results Of the sample studied 33% of women and 30% of men were overweight (P < 0.08), whereas 22% of women and 7% of men were obese (P < 0.001). Abdominal obesity was present in 67% of women and 18% of men (P < 0.001). After adjusting for age, leisure time physical activity, alcohol consumption, and tobacco smoking, the prevalence of overweight + obesity, obesity, and abdominal obesity increased with quartiles of household amenities in both genders and with occupational level in men. Conclusion SES is positively associated with adiposity in urban Cameroon after adjusting for confounding factors.