Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity, and Its Associated Factors Among Health-care Workers, Teachers, and Bankers in Arusha City, Tanzania

Figures & data

Table 1 Socio-Demographic Characteristics of the Health-care Workers, Teachers, and Bankers

Variable	Overall N=286 n (%)	Profession			p-value
		Health-care Workers N=61 n (%)	Teachers N=131 n (%)	Bankers N=94 n (%)
Gender
Male	82 (28.7)	13 (15.9)	30 (36.6)	39 (47.5)	0.004^a
Female	204 (71.3)	48 (23.5)	101 (49.5)	55 (27.0)
Age group (years)
18–29	75 (26.2)	20 (26.6)	29 (38.7)	26 (34.7)	0.003^a
30–39	121 (42.3)	16 (13.2)	56 (46.2)	49 (40.4)
40–49	49 (17.1)	9 (18.4)	28 (57.1)	12 (24.5)
50–60	41 (14.3)	16 (39.0)	18 (43.9)	7 (17.1)
Education level
College	141 (49.3)	51 (36.2)	70 (49.6)	20 (14.2)	0.0001^a
University graduate degree	122 (42.7)	9 (7.4)	50 (41.0)	63 (51.6)
Post graduate degree	23 (8.0)	1 (4.3)	11 (47.8)	11 (47.8)
Marital status
Single	95 (33.2)	21 (22.1)	39 (41.1)	35 (36.8)	0.117^a
Married/Cohabitating	182 (63.6)	35 (19.2)	89 (48.9)	58 (31.9)
Divorced/Separated/Widowed	9 (3.1)	5 (55.6)	3 (33.3)	1 (11.1)
Employment status
Government employee	142 (49.7)	42 (29.5)	86(60.6)	14 (9.9)	0.0001^a
Non-government employee	144 (50.3)	19 (13.2)	45(31.3)	80 (55.5)
Years with institution
Less than a year	24 (8.4)	11 (45.8)	8 (33.3)	5 (20.8)	0.001^a
1–3 years	58 (20.3)	13 (22.4)	27 (46.6)	18 (31.0)
4–6 years	82 (28.7)	16 (19.5)	27 (32.9)	39 (47.6)
7 years and above	122 (42.7)	21 (17.2)	69 (56.6)	32 (26.2)
Estimated income per month (TSh)
Less than 250,000	22 (7.7)	7 (31.8)	11(50.0)	4 (18.2)	0.0001^a
250,000–500,000	79 (27.6)	14 (17.7)	56 (70.9)	9 (11.4)
500,000–750,000	83 (29.0)	26 (31.3)	32 (38.6)	25 (30.1)
750,000–1,000,000	64 (22.4)	12 (18.7)	27 (42.2)	25 (39.1)
More than 1,000,000	38 (13.3)	2 (5.3)	5 (13.1)	31 (81.6)
Height (cm, mean ± SD)	162.7±7.7	160.9±7.5	162.4±7.2	164.3±8.3	0.019^b
Weight (cm, mean ± SD)	75.1±16.2	74.7±17.8	73.3±14.9	77.9±16.7	0.105^b
BMI (kg/m^2; mean ± SD)	28.4±5.9	28.9±6.7	27.8±5.5	28.9±5.9	0.316^b
WC (cm, mean ± SD)	92.0±12.9	91.9±14.3	92.1±12.4	92.0±12.7	0.994^b

Notes: ^aChi-square test ^bANOVA. The p-value was considered statistically significant when p<0.05

Table 2 Lifestyle Factors of the Health-care Workers, Teachers, and Bankers

Variable	Overall N=286 n (%)	Profession			p-value
		Health-care Workers N=61 n (%)	Teachers N=131 n (%)	Bankers N=94 n (%)
Alcohol consumption
Lifetime abstainers	170 (59.4)	39 (22.9)	93 (54.7)	38 (22.4)	0.0001
Past drinkers	60 (21.0)	14 (23.3)	24 (40.0)	22 (36.7)
Current drinkers	56 (19.6)	8 (14.3)	14 (25.0)	34 (60.7)
Consumption of fruits in a week
≥ 5 days	123 (43.0)	29 (23.6)	54 (43.9)	40(32.5)	0.708
< 5days	163(57.0)	32 (19.6)	77 (47.2)	54 (33.1)
Consumption of vegetables in a week
≥ 5 days	144 (50.3)	30 (20.8)	72 (50.0)	42 (29.2)	0.308
< 5days	142 (49.7)	31 (21.8)	59 (41.5)	52 (36.6)
Kind of meals eaten at work (five days in a week)
Breakfast	27 (9.4)	12 (44.4)	9 (33.3)	6(22.2)	0.0001
Lunch	114 (39.9)	28 (24.6)	70 (61.4)	16 (14.0)
Breakfast and lunch	132 (46.2)	20 (15.2)	47 (35.6)	65 (49.2)
Breakfast, lunch and dinner	13 (4.5)	1 (7.7)	5 (38.5)	7 (53.8)
Mode of transport to and from work
Walking	56 (19.6)	8 (14.3)	43 (76.8)	5 (8.9)	0.0001
Car and walking	12 (4.2)	3 (25.0)	8 (66.7)	1 (8.3)
Car and motorcycle	14 (4.9)	1 (5.5)	10 (55.6)	7 (38.9)
Motorcycle	18 (6.3)	3 (21.4)	8 (57.1)	3 (21.4)
Private car or public transport	186 (65.0)	46 (24.7)	62 (33.3)	78 (42.0)
Sedentary work
Yes	236 (82.5)	39 (16.5)	103 (43.6)	94 (39.8)	0.0001
No	50 (17.5)	22 (44.0)	28 (56.0)	0 (0.0)
Time spend on sedentary work
< 6 hour	163 (57.0)	47 (28.8)	87 (53.4)	29 (17.8)	0.0001
> 6 hours	123 (43.0)	14 (11.4)	44 (35.8)	65 (52.8)
Level of physical activities
High activity level	34 (11.9)	2 (5.9)	19 (55.9)	13 (38.2)	0.0001
Moderate activity level	125 (43.7)	39 (31.2)	67 (53.6)	19 (15.2)
Low activity level	127 (44.4)	20 (15.7)	45 (35.4)	62 (48.8)

Figure 1 (A) Overall prevalence of overweight and obesity among working adults in Arusha city. (B) Prevalence of overweight or obesity among Health-care workers, Teachers, and Bankers.

Figure 2 (A) Distribution of gender on body mass index (BMI): (B) Distribution of age categories on body mass index (BMI).

Table 3 Socio-Demographic Factors Associated with Overweight and Obesity Among Health-care Workers, Teachers, and Bankers

Variable	Body Mass Index Status		COR (95% CI)	p-value	AOR (95% CI)	p-value
	Normal Weight	Overweight/Obesity
Gender
Male	45 (10.0)	54(90.0)	1		1
Female	52(25.5)	152(74.5)	2.40 (1.40–4.11)	0.001	2.60 (1.30–5.21)	0.007
Age group (years)
18–29	49(65.30)	26(34.70)	1		1
30–39	31(25.60)	90(74.40)	5.47 (2.92–10.24)	0.0001	2.58 (1.07–6.21)	0.034
40–49	4(8.20)	45(91.80)	21.20 (6.86–65.49)	0.0001	7.73 (1.93–30.87)	0.004
50–60	5(12.20)	36(87.80)	13.57 (4.75–38.75)	0.0001	5.34 (1.34–21.38)	0.017
Education level
Postgraduate degree	4(17.40)	19(82.60)	1		1
University graduate degree	45(36.90)	77(63.10)	0.36 (0.12–1.13)	0.079	0.742 (0.205–2.687)	0.649
College	40(28.40)	101(71.60)	0.53(0.17–1.66)	0.277	1.112 (0.286–4.317)	0.878
Profession
Health-care worker	19(31.10)	42(68.90)	1
Teacher	49(37.40)	82(62.60)	0.76 (0.40–1.45)	0.399
Banker	21(22.30)	73(77.70)	1.57 (0.76–3.26)	0.223
Marital status
Single	57(54.8)	47(45.20)	1		1
Married/Cohabitating	32(17.60)	150(82.40)	5.69 (3.30–9.78)	0.0001	2.47 (1.11–5.50)	0.026
Years with institution
Less than a year	18(75.00)	6(25.0)	1		1
1–3 years	31(53.4)	27(46.6)	2.61 (0.91–7.53)	0.075	3.56 (1.01–12.57)	0.048
4–6 years	22(26.8)	60(73.2)	8.18 (2.88–23.27)	0.0001	4.59 (1.38–17.80)	0.014
7 years and above	18(14.8)	104(85.2)	17.33(6.06–49.57)	0.0001	4.28 (1.54–15.86)	0.030
Estimated income per month (Tsh)
Less than 250,000	9(40.90)	13(59.10)	1		1
250,000–500,000	31(39.20)	48(60.8)	1.07 (0.41–2.81)	0.887	0.49 (0.12–1.95)	0.311
500,000–750,000	30(36.10)	53(78.10)	1.22 (0.47–3.20)	0.681	0.48(0.12–2.03)	0.315
750,000–1,000,000	14(21.90)	50(78.10)	2.47 (0.88–6.97)	0.087	0.86 (0.18–4.01)	0.843
More than 1,000,000	5(13.20)	33(86.80)	4.57(1.29–16.23)	0.019	1.25(0.22–7.15)	0.801

Abbreviations: COR, crude odds ratio; AOR, adjusted odds ratio; CI, confidence interval.

Table 4 Lifestyle Factors Associated with Overweight and Obesity Among Health-care Workers, Teachers, and Bankers

Variable	Body Mass Index Status		COR (95% CI)	p-value	AOR (95% CI)	p-value
	Normal Weight	Overweight/Obesity
Alcohol consumption
Lifetime abstainers	56(33.90)	109(66.10)		1
Past drinkers	23(38.30)	37(61.7)	1.15 (0.61–2.17)	0.675
Current drinkers	10(16.40)	51(83.6)	1.34 (0.69–2.63)	0.390
Consumption of fruits in a week
> 5 days	31(25.20)	92(74.8)		1
< 5 days	58(35.60)	105(64.4)	0.61 (0.36–1.02)	0.836
Consumption of vegetables in a week
> 5 days	44(30.60)	100(69.4)		1
< 5days	45(31.70)	97(68.3)	0.95 (0.58–1.57)	0.836
Kind of meals eaten outside home (five days in a week)
Breakfast	7(25.90)	20(74.1)		1
Lunch	37(32.50)	77(67.50)	0.73 (0.28–1.88)	0.511
Breakfast and lunch	38(28.80)	94(71.2)	0.87 (0.34–2.22)	0.764
Breakfast, lunch and dinner	7(53.8)	6(46.2)	0.30 (0.08–1.20)	0.089
Mode of transport to and from work
Walking	29(51.80)	27(48.20)	1		1
Car and walking	4(33.30)	8(66.70)	2.15 (0.58–7.96)	0.25	1.76 (0.34–9.20)	0.505
Motorcycle	5(27.70)	13(72.20)	2.79 (0.88–8.88)	0.082	1.82 (0.46–7.12)	0.389
Car and motorcycle	5(35.70)	9(64.30)	1.93 (0.58–6.50)	0.287	1.34 (0.32–5.72)	0.688
Private car or Public transport	46(24.70)	140(75.3)	3.27 (1.757–6.083)	0.0001	2.43 (1.10–5.40)	0.029
Sedentary work
No	23(46.00)	27(54.00)	1		1
Yes	66(28.00)	170(72.00)	2.19 (1.75–4.10)	0.014	2.43 (1.04–5.71)	0.041
Time spend on sedentary work
< 6 hour	35(28.50)	88(71.50)	1
> 6 hours	54(33.10)	109(66.90)	1.25 (0.75–2.07)	0.398
Level of physical activities
High activity level	14(41.20)	20(58.20)	1		1
Moderate activity level	45(36.00)	80(64.00)	1.24 (0.57–2.70)	0.580	1.98 (0.69–5.69)	0.203
Low activity level	30(23.60)	97(76.40)	2.26(1.02–5.02)	0.044	1.92 (0.67–5.55)	0.227

Abbreviations: COR, crude odds ratio; AOR, adjusted odds ratio; CI, confidence interval.