Abstract:
Background: Overweight and obesity are global public health problems and the two terms
are often used interchangeably. According to the World Health Organization the prevalence
of obesity has nearly doubled over the past twenty years. World population estimates indicate
that about half a billion people who are over 20 years are either overweight or obese and thus
almost 2.8 million people die per year due to complications and conditions caused by
excessive fat.
Aim: The aim of the study was to investigate the prevalence and associated health risk factors
of overweight and obesity among educators in selected schools in Nkomazi Municipality.
Methodology: A quantitative cross-sectional design was used. The population of this study
included all teachers in the Nkomazi Municipality. Three circuits were randomly selected, and
all the nineteen schools within the three circuits were included in the study and simple random
sampling was used to select 315 teachers from 1,010 teachers. A modified World Health
Organization stepwise questionnaire for non-communicable diseases latest version was used
to collect data regarding demographic characteristics, and lifestyle risk factors. A Seca
weighing scale was used to measure respondents’ weight, stadiometer was used to measure
height, GUlick anthropometric tape was used to measure girths, an automatic
sphygmomanometer was used to measure blood pressure and an accu-chek Instant machine
was used to measure glucose level. The Statistical Package of Social Sciences version 26.0
was used to analyse data. The Chi-square test was used to determine the association between
obesity and risk factors. Charts and graphs were used to present the results of the study.
Results: The prevalence of overweight was 33.9%, obesity class I was at 21.4%, obesity class
II was at 6.4% and obesity class III was at 3.1%. Moreover, only 33.2% were found to be
normal. The findings also highlighted that 40.3% of the participants did not participate in
moderate physical activity, 60.3% agreed to snacking between meals while 49.5% reported
that they spend more than 10 hours seated on a daily basis. The findings also revealed that
29.5% were pre-hypertensive while 41.4% were at a high risk of developing diabetes mellitus.
Statistically, significant difference was evident between family history and increased BMI and
WHR (P=0.001 and P=0.026).
Conclusion: The findings take a lead in concluding that participants had a high prevalence
rate of overweight and obesity due to negative lifestyle habits. The study therefore
recommends that education authorities must ensure that educators participate in moderate
physical activity and consume healthy foods.
