Underweight, overweight and obesity amongst young adults in Ota, Nigeria
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Academic Journals
Abstract
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The pattern of body weight abnormality amongst persons in their early adulthood in Ota, Southwest
Nigeria was investigated. A total of 341 healthy young adults (194 male; 147 female), aged 20 – 35 years
participated in the study. Anthropometric measurements and WHO cut-offs were used to categorize
their body weights into normal weight, underweight, overweight and obesity. Males were significantly
(p < 0.05) bigger in size (weight and height) than females. Body weight abnormality was higher in females
(36.0%) than males (23.7%). Underweight was prevalent (12.9%) amongst females but low (2.6%) in
males; 2.7% of females were severely underweight. The most prevalent abnormality was overweight
(19.7% in females; 18.6% in males) whereas obesity was the least (3.4% in females; 2.6% in males).
Gender differences appear to influence the body weights of the young adults in Ota, Nigeria. The study
suggests a dual challenge of malnutrition and over-nutrition amongst females
Keywords
QH301 Biology