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Trends and Risks Factors Associated to Women Obesity in Cameroon and Gabon

Received: 17 November 2014     Accepted: 28 November 2014     Published: 28 January 2015
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Abstract

Overweight or obesity sets in when there is a successive increase in body mass. Obesity is quantified or measured using body mass index (BMI) which is calculated using the weight and size of an individual. If the BMI is greater than or equal to 25 kg / m², a person is considered to be overweight, which is a condition associated with excessive fat. The increase in body weight and its corollary (obesity) is a major public health problem, which is becoming increasingly important in developing societies. In Cameroon and Gabon, we note an increase in the proportion of overweight among women: nearly 2.77% between 2004 and 2011 (from Cameroon) and nearly 13.22% between 2000 and 2012 (from Gabon). The objective of this study is to show that overweight women are going to become a public health problem in Central Africa. For this purpose, we decided to study the increased risk of becoming overweight for women in central Africa, namely in Cameroon and Gabon. We focused firstly, on the explanatory sources of the increase in the proportion of overweight women and secondly, the factors associated with the risk of being overweight among women from Gabon and Cameroon. This study is about women aged 15-49 years disseminated throughout the national territory of both countries. Results show that the increase in the proportion of overweight in women is mainly due to a change of lifestyle. The explanatory analysis model highlights that, area of residence, age, place of residence, the standard of living of household, marital status and occupation of women, parity (number of children) and educational level (only in Cameroon) are factors explaining weight increase in women. Therefore, medical and educational workers, as well as opinion leaders, need to educate women about the importance of sedentary lifestyle and the need to have a quality dietary habit and food hygiene (eat organic foods consisting mainly of fruits and vegetables).

Published in American Journal of Health Research (Volume 2, Issue 6)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajhr.20140206.26
Page(s) 420-428
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2015. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Overweight, Female Population, Behavior Effect, Composition Effect, Cameroon, Gabon

References
[1] Basdevant A., Guy-Grand B. (2004). Médecine de l'obésité. Flammarion Médecine-Sciences, 245 p
[2] Basdevant, A., Laville, M., Lerebours, E. (2001). Traité de nutrition clinique de l'adulte, Flammarion Médecine-Sciences, 350 p.
[3] Direction Générale de la Statistique (DGS) et ICF International. (2013). Enquête Démographique et de Santé du Gabon 2012. Calverton, Maryland et Libreville, Gabon : DGS ICF International
[4] Direction Générale de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques (DGSEE)[Gabon] et ORC Maroc. 2001. Enquête Démographique et de Santé du Gabon 2000. Calverton, Maryland : Direction Générale de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques, et Fonds des Nations Unies pour la Population et ORC Macro.
[5] Eloundou-Enyegue PM, Stokes CS. (2007). Demographic Transitions and Children's Resources: Growth or Divergence? Demographic Research 16 (7): 195-218.
[6] Institut National de la Statistique (INS) (2008). Condition de vie des populations et profil de pauvreté au Cameroun en 2007. Rapport principal de l'ECAM3, Yaoundé, Cameroun, 263 p.
[7] Institut National de la Statistique (2004). Enquête Démographique et de Santé du Cameroun. Calverton, Maryland, USA: INS et ORC Macro.
[8] Institut National de la Statistique (INS) et ORC Macro. (2011). Enquête Démographique et de Santé du Cameroun. Calverton, Maryland, USA: INS et ORC Macro.
[9] Ob Epi-Roche. (2009) Enquête épidémiologique nationale sur le surpoids et l'obésité.
[10] Oliver I., Jouret B., Tauber M. (2006). Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées : réseau ville-hôpital de prévention et prise en charge de l'obésité pédiatrique. Obésité 1(2-4), 69-71.
[11] OMS. (1997). Obésité : prévention et prise en charge de l'épidémie mondiale ; rapport d'une consultation de l'OMS. Série Rapports Techniques 894, 117 p.
[12] Poulain J.-P. (2009). Sociologie de l'obésité, Presses Universitaires de France, 310 p.
[13] Taramasco Toro C. A.(2011). Impact de l'obésité sur les structures sociales et impact des structures sociales sur l'obésité : Facteurs individuels et environnementaux, Thèse de Doctorat, Université J. Fourier Grenoble, 430 p.
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  • APA Style

    Hénock Blaise Nguendo Yongsi, Olivier Abondo Ngwa. (2015). Trends and Risks Factors Associated to Women Obesity in Cameroon and Gabon. American Journal of Health Research, 2(6), 420-428. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajhr.20140206.26

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    ACS Style

    Hénock Blaise Nguendo Yongsi; Olivier Abondo Ngwa. Trends and Risks Factors Associated to Women Obesity in Cameroon and Gabon. Am. J. Health Res. 2015, 2(6), 420-428. doi: 10.11648/j.ajhr.20140206.26

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    AMA Style

    Hénock Blaise Nguendo Yongsi, Olivier Abondo Ngwa. Trends and Risks Factors Associated to Women Obesity in Cameroon and Gabon. Am J Health Res. 2015;2(6):420-428. doi: 10.11648/j.ajhr.20140206.26

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajhr.20140206.26,
      author = {Hénock Blaise Nguendo Yongsi and Olivier Abondo Ngwa},
      title = {Trends and Risks Factors Associated to Women Obesity in Cameroon and Gabon},
      journal = {American Journal of Health Research},
      volume = {2},
      number = {6},
      pages = {420-428},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajhr.20140206.26},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajhr.20140206.26},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajhr.20140206.26},
      abstract = {Overweight or obesity sets in when there is a successive increase in body mass. Obesity is quantified or measured using body mass index (BMI) which is calculated using the weight and size of an individual. If the BMI is greater than or equal to 25 kg / m², a person is considered to be overweight, which is a condition associated with excessive fat. The increase in body weight and its corollary (obesity) is a major public health problem, which is becoming increasingly important in developing societies. In Cameroon and Gabon, we note an increase in the proportion of overweight among women: nearly 2.77% between 2004 and 2011 (from Cameroon) and nearly 13.22% between 2000 and 2012 (from Gabon). The objective of this study is to show that overweight women are going to become a public health problem in Central Africa. For this purpose, we decided to study the increased risk of becoming overweight for women in central Africa, namely in Cameroon and Gabon. We focused firstly, on the explanatory sources of the increase in the proportion of overweight women and secondly, the factors associated with the risk of being overweight among women from Gabon and Cameroon. This study is about women aged 15-49 years disseminated throughout the national territory of both countries. Results show that the increase in the proportion of overweight in women is mainly due to a change of lifestyle. The explanatory analysis model highlights that, area of residence, age, place of residence, the standard of living of household, marital status and occupation of women, parity (number of children) and educational level (only in Cameroon) are factors explaining weight increase in women. Therefore, medical and educational workers, as well as opinion leaders, need to educate women about the importance of sedentary lifestyle and the need to have a quality dietary habit and food hygiene (eat organic foods consisting mainly of fruits and vegetables).},
     year = {2015}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Trends and Risks Factors Associated to Women Obesity in Cameroon and Gabon
    AU  - Hénock Blaise Nguendo Yongsi
    AU  - Olivier Abondo Ngwa
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    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajhr.20140206.26
    T2  - American Journal of Health Research
    JF  - American Journal of Health Research
    JO  - American Journal of Health Research
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    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2330-8796
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajhr.20140206.26
    AB  - Overweight or obesity sets in when there is a successive increase in body mass. Obesity is quantified or measured using body mass index (BMI) which is calculated using the weight and size of an individual. If the BMI is greater than or equal to 25 kg / m², a person is considered to be overweight, which is a condition associated with excessive fat. The increase in body weight and its corollary (obesity) is a major public health problem, which is becoming increasingly important in developing societies. In Cameroon and Gabon, we note an increase in the proportion of overweight among women: nearly 2.77% between 2004 and 2011 (from Cameroon) and nearly 13.22% between 2000 and 2012 (from Gabon). The objective of this study is to show that overweight women are going to become a public health problem in Central Africa. For this purpose, we decided to study the increased risk of becoming overweight for women in central Africa, namely in Cameroon and Gabon. We focused firstly, on the explanatory sources of the increase in the proportion of overweight women and secondly, the factors associated with the risk of being overweight among women from Gabon and Cameroon. This study is about women aged 15-49 years disseminated throughout the national territory of both countries. Results show that the increase in the proportion of overweight in women is mainly due to a change of lifestyle. The explanatory analysis model highlights that, area of residence, age, place of residence, the standard of living of household, marital status and occupation of women, parity (number of children) and educational level (only in Cameroon) are factors explaining weight increase in women. Therefore, medical and educational workers, as well as opinion leaders, need to educate women about the importance of sedentary lifestyle and the need to have a quality dietary habit and food hygiene (eat organic foods consisting mainly of fruits and vegetables).
    VL  - 2
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Author Information
  • Geospatial land &Health Research Group, Population and Health Dept, Institute for Training & Research in Population Studies (IFORD), University of Yaoundé II, Cameroon

  • Care-IFA, Institute for Training & Research in Population Studies (IFORD), University of Yaoundé II, Cameroon

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