IJE Advance Access originally published online on October 28, 2005
International Journal of Epidemiology 2006 35(1):105-111; doi:10.1093/ije/dyi214
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Original Papers |
Association between socioeconomic status and adiposity in urban Cameroon
1 Inserm Unité 258, Villejuif, France
2 Health of Population in Transition Research Group, Yaoundé, Cameroon
3 World Health Organization, Geneva
4 University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, England
5 Imperial College, London, England
* Corresponding author. Health of Population in Transition Research Group, Cameroon, Department of Medicine and Specialities, Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Yaoundé I, PO Box 8046 Yaoundé, Cameroon. E-mail: jean-claude.mbanya{at}camnet.cm
Background As the relation between socioeconomic status (SES) and obesity may depend on the stage of development of a country, this relation is assessed in adults from urban Cameroon.
Methods A sample comprising 1530 women and 1301 men aged 25 years and above, from 1897 households in the Biyem-Assi health area in the capital of Cameroon, Yaoundé, were interviewed about their household amenities, occupation, and education. Weight, height, and waist circumference were measured and subjects were classified as obese if their BMI 
30 kg/m2 or overweight if BMI was between 25.0 and 29.9 kg/m2. Abdominal obesity was defined by a waist circumference 80 cm in women and 94 cm in men.
Results Of the sample studied 33% of women and 30% of men were overweight (P < 0.08), whereas 22% of women and 7% of men were obese (P < 0.001). Abdominal obesity was present in 67% of women and 18% of men (P < 0.001). After adjusting for age, leisure time physical activity, alcohol consumption, and tobacco smoking, the prevalence of overweight + obesity, obesity, and abdominal obesity increased with quartiles of household amenities in both genders and with occupational level in men.
Conclusion SES is positively associated with adiposity in urban Cameroon after adjusting for confounding factors.
Keywords Socioeconomic status, overweight, obesity, abdominal obesity, developing countries
Accepted 28 July 2005
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