Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Feb 9:11:e14723.
doi: 10.7717/peerj.14723. eCollection 2023.

Epidemiological correlates of overweight and obesity in the Northern Cape Province, South Africa

Mackenzie H Smith  1 , Justin W Myrick  2 , Oshiomah Oyageshio  3 , Caitlin Uren  4   5 , Jamie Saayman  4 , Sihaam Boolay  4 , Lena van der Westhuizen  2 , Cedric Werely  4 , Marlo Möller  4   5 , Brenna M Henn  2 , Austin W Reynolds  1
Affiliations

Epidemiological correlates of overweight and obesity in the Northern Cape Province, South Africa

Mackenzie H Smith et al. PeerJ. .

Abstract

Background: In the past several decades, obesity has become a major public health issue worldwide, associated with increased rates of chronic disease and death. Like many developing nations, South Africa is experiencing rapid increases in BMI, and as a result, evidence-based preventive strategies are needed to reduce the increasing burden of overweight and obesity. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and predictors of overweight and obesity among a multi-ethnic cohort from the rural Northern Cape of South Africa.

Methods: These data were collected as part of a tuberculosis (TB) case-control study, with 395 healthy control participants included in the final analysis. Overweight and obesity were defined according to WHO classification. Multivariate linear models of BMI were generated using sex, age, education level, smoking, alcohol consumption, and diabetes as predictor variables. We also used multivariable logistic regression analysis to assess the relationship of these factors with overweight and obesity.

Results: The average BMI in our study cohort was 25.2. The prevalence of overweight was 18.0% and the prevalence of obesity was 25.0%. We find that female sex, being older, having more years of formal education, having diabetes, and being in a rural area are all positively associated with BMI in our dataset. Women (OR = 5.6, 95% CI [3.3-9.8]), rural individuals (OR = 3.3, 95% CI [1.9-6.0]), older individuals (OR = 1.02, 95% CI [1-1.04]), and those with more years of education (OR = 1.2, 95% CI [1.09-1.32]) were all more likely to be overweight or obese. Alternatively, being a smoker is negatively associated with BMI and decreases one's odds of being overweight or obese (OR = 0.28, 95% CI [0.16-0.46]).

Conclusions: We observed a high prevalence of overweight and obesity in this study. The odds of being overweight and obese were higher in women, those living in rural areas, and those with more education, and increases with age. Community-based interventions to control obesity in this region should pay special attention to these groups.

Keywords: Epidemiology; Global health; Obesity; South Africa.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

References

    1. Adab P, Pallan M, Whincup PH. Is BMI the best measure of obesity? BMJ. 2018;360:k1274. doi: 10.1136/bmj.k1274. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Alaba O, Chola L. Socioeconomic inequalities in adult obesity prevalence in South Africa: a decomposition analysis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2014;11(3):3387–3406. doi: 10.3390/ijerph110303387. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Andrews JR, Morrow C, Walensky RP, Wood R. Integrating social contact and environmental data in evaluating tuberculosis transmission in a South African township. The Journal of Infectious Diseases. 2014;210(4):597–603. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiu138. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Audrain-McGovern J, Benowitz NL. Cigarette smoking, nicotine, and body weight. Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics. 2011;90(1):164–168. doi: 10.1038/clpt.2011.105. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Barceló A, Gregg EW, Pastor-Valero M, Robles SC. Waist circumference, BMI and the prevalence of self-reported diabetes among the elderly of the United States and six cities of Latin America and the Caribbean. Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice. 2007;78(3):418–427. doi: 10.1016/j.diabres.2007.06.008. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types