Incidence of Overweight, Obesity and the Risk of Cardiovascular Diseases amongst Non-Teaching Staff in Selected Tertiary Institutions in Bida Metropolis

Abstract

The study was undertaken to assess the incidence of overweight/obesity and the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) of 313 non-academic staff in Federal Polytechnic Bida, Niger State and Niger State Polytechnic Bida, Campus. Face to face interview with the sampled participant was conducted using a modified WHO-STEP-WISE survey questionnaire which was used to collect socio-economic and demographic characteristic, dietary intake, physical activity level and anthropometric indices and clinical status of the respondents. Anthropometric measurement was carried out using weight and height for BMI, waist circumference and Hip circumference for wait to hip ratio, body fat percentage as well as systolic and diastolic reading for blood pressure measurement. Data were analyzed for descriptive frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation and inferential statistic, chi-square where p>0.05 are statistically significant using SPSS 25.0. The study had more (79.2%) male than female (20.8%) respondents with 41.5% aged 30-39years. This distribution of risk factors of cardiovascular disease showed (33.1%) and 23.8% as overweight and obese respectively for male respondents and 41.5% and 29.2% as overweight and obese respectively for the female respondents. Abdominal fat accumulation indicated (34.7%) men at high risk compared to 50.8% female at high risk. The study also showed that 29.1% of the male respondents had hypertension compared to the female respondents (24.6%) while 8.5% of the male respondent had diabetes compared to the female respondents which is (18.5%). Majority (86%) do not engage in regular exercise while 3.2% and 8.9% respectively indulge in smoking and alcohol. Weekly consumption of fruits 927%) and vegetables (36.4%) was poor. However, significant relationship between body mass index, waist and hip ratio and risk factors of Cardio vascular diseases was observed at P<0.01. The burden of overweight and obesity along with physical inactivity and unhealthy dietary habit increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases in non-academic staff. Sensitization of the non-academic staff of the institutions and awareness creation through nutrition education on the need for early detection of risk factors of cardiovascular diseases with emphasis on lifestyle and dietary intake.