Assesing overweight and obesity among Kenyan adult population associated with deifferent social-economic activities

Abstract

Obesity and overweight is an accelerating problem globally that affect every social-economic class. Little is available in literature on the status of obesity and overweight in African countries. Recent evidence indicates that overweight and obesity are increasing in sub¬Saharan Africa, including Kenya, at a rate of 5% per year on average (Zibara et all., 2009) Hence it is predicted that there will be an accompanying surge in non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes. Overweight and obesity are most common in women and specifically in the 25 to 44 year old age group (Siega-Riz et all.,).This is the period of childbearing age. This project will therefore has highlight the causes, effect and measures that should be taken to deal with this syndrome. Obesity results from incorrect energy balance leading to an increased store of energy mainly fat.

A cross-section design was used and data on social-economic factors on different people including their age, gender, education level and marital status was collected. Simple random sampling was used to collect the data. The indicator body mass Index (BM!) was used to determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity. The data was analysed using the STATA and SPSS statistical software. Correlation analysis was performed to establish strength and direction of association between variable. A regression model was fitted to determine the independent variables that predict occurrence of overweight and obesity amongst population