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Background: Tanzania is one of the developing countries experiencing an increasing trend
of overweight and obesity among adults. Working adults have been identified as a high-risk
group more exposed to the predictors of overweight and obesity than the general population.
However, limited studies have been done in this group. This study aimed to identify the
prevalence of overweight and obesity and its associated risk factors among health-care
workers, teachers, and bankers in Arusha city council.
Subjects and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among health care workers, teachers, and bankers. A total of 305 working adults aged 18–60 years
participated in the study. A modified World Health Organization (WHO) STEPwise approach
for chronic disease risk factor surveillance was used to collect data about socio-demographic
characteristics, lifestyle behaviors, dietary practices and anthropometric measurement. The
Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ) was used to collect information about level
of physical activities. The anthropometric measurement and level of physical activities were
calculated and ranked according to WHO guidelines.
Results: Overall, 68.9% (31.1% overweight and 37.8% obese) of working adults were
overweight or obese. Age (adjusted odds ratio [AOR=7.73; 95% CI: 1.93–30.87]), gender
(AOR=2.60; 95% CI: 1.30–5.21), marital status (AOR=2.47; 95% CI: 1.11–5.50), years
spent with the current institution (AOR=4.59; 95% CI: 1.38–17.80), using private car or
public transport to and from work (AOR=2.43; 95% CI: 1.10–5.39) and sedentary work
(AOR=2.43; 95% CI: 1.04–5.71), were significant factors associated with overweight or
obesity.
Conclusion: The study identified a higher prevalence of overweight and obesity in Tanzania
compared with previous studies. The results from this study are useful for the education
sector, financial institutions and health sector on designing workplace wellness programs to
reduce the burden of overweight and obesity among this working category. |
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