In:
Frontiers in Public Health, Frontiers Media SA, Vol. 10 ( 2022-10-5)
Abstract:
Obesity is associated with increased risk of non-communicable diseases and death and is increasing rapidly in low- and middle-income countries, including Haiti. There is limited population-based data on body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) and associated risk factors in Haiti. This study describes BMI and WC, and factors associated with obesity using a population-based cohort from Port-au-Prince. Methods Baseline sociodemographic and clinical data were collected from participants in the Haiti CVD Cohort Study between March 2019 and August 2021. Weight was categorized by BMI (kg/m 2 ) with obesity defined as ≥30 kg/m 2 . Abdominal obesity was defined using WC cutoffs of ≥80 cm for women and ≥94 cm for men based on WHO guidelines. Sociodemographic and behavioral risk factors, including age, sex, educational attainment, income, smoking status, physical activity, fat/oil use, daily fruit/vegetable consumption, and frequency of fried food intake were assessed for their association with obesity using a Poisson multivariable regression. Results Among 2,966 participants, median age was 41 years (IQR: 28–55) and 57.6% were women. Median BMI was 24.0 kg/m 2 (IQR: 20.9–28.1) and 508 (17.1%) participants were obese. Women represented 89.2% of the population with BMI ≥30 kg/m 2 . A total of 1,167 (68.3%) women had WC ≥80 cm and 144 (11.4%) men had WC ≥94 cm. BMI ≥30 kg/m 2 was significantly more prevalent among women than men [PR 5.7; 95% CI: (4.3–7.6)], those 40–49 years compared to 18–29 years [PR 3.3; 95% CI: (2.4–4.6)] , and those with income & gt;10 USD per day compared to ≤1 USD [PR 1.3; 95% CI: (1.0–1.6)]. There were no significant associations with other health and behavioral risk factors. Discussion In Haiti, women have an alarming 6-fold higher obesity prevalence compared to men (26.5 vs. 4.3%) and 89.2% of participants with obesity were women. Abdominal obesity was high, at 44.3%. Haiti faces a paradox of an ongoing national food insecurity crises and a burgeoning obesity epidemic. Individual, social, and environmental drivers of obesity, especially among women, need to be identified.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
2296-2565
DOI:
10.3389/fpubh.2022.976909
DOI:
10.3389/fpubh.2022.976909.s001
Language:
Unknown
Publisher:
Frontiers Media SA
Publication Date:
2022
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2711781-9
Permalink
