Magnitude and risks of overweight/obesity among adults in Welkite town, Southern Ethiopia: A community based cross-sectional study.

Background: Currently, adult overweight/obesity affects a high proportion of the population in low and middle-income countries, mostly in urban areas. Although some studies have been conducted on overweight/obesity in Ethiopia, most of them have focused on school children and adolescents, and there is limited evidence of overweight/obesity among adults at the community level. Therefore, the present study aimed to assess the magnitude of overweight/obesity and risk factors among adults in Welkite town, Southern Ethiopia.

Methods: A Community-based cross-sectional study was done among 524 adults aged 18 and more years in Welkite town, Southern Ethiopia, from February through March 2020. A multistage sampling technique was undertaken to recruit study participants. An interviewer-guided structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Overweight or obesity was identified using body mass index. The bivariate and multivariate analyses were employed to see an association using binary logistic regression.

Results: The magnitude of overweight and obesity was 22.2% (95% CI: 0.19, 0.26). Being female (AOR = 2.40, 95% CI: 1.34, 4.27), age group 30-47 years (AOR = 3.26, 95% CI: 1.52, 6.97) and 48-66 years (AOR = 2.56, 95% CI: 1.07, 6.08), average monthly income (AOR = 2.64, 95% CI: 1.51, 4.60), had own transport (AOR = 2.48, 95% CI: 1.03, 5.93), eating meat ≥ four times per week (AOR = 3.33, 95% CI: 1.03, 10.74), not involve vigorous-intensity activity (AOR = 2.96, 95% CI: 1.55, 5.64), spent sitting or reclining ≥181 minutes per day (AOR = 1.88, 95% CI: 1.08, 3.26), and consuming alcohol (AOR = 2.23, 95% CI: 1.29, 3.82) were risks for overweight and obesity.

Conclusions: The magnitude of overweight and obesity among adults was high. Factors such as being female, increasing age, physical inactivity, having own transportation, high average monthly income, eating meat, sitting or reclining more and equal to 181+ minutes per day, and consumption of alcohol increased the risk of overweight and obesity significantly. Hence, preventive interventions focusing on females, age groups of 30-66yrs, encouraging Physical activity, reducing meat frequency, and reducing alcohol consumption are essential to prevent the emergence of adulthood overweight/obesity.

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.