Prevalence of Overweight, Obesity and Associated Risk Factors among Women of Reproductive Age in the Kanifing Municipality, The Gambia

The increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity is a critical public health problem for women of reproductive age. The main objective of the study was to determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity as well as associated risk factors among women in Kanifing Municipality, in The Gambia. A cross-sectional design was used. Data on socio-economic factors of the women, their physical activity and dietary intake patterns, as well as anthropometric measurements were collected from 150 women aged 15-44 years from twelve wards, using the convenient sampling method. Two indicators [body mass index (BMI), and waist circumference] were used to determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity. Data were analysed using the SPSS Software. Analytical statistics test was done using Chi-square with the significant level of 95%. The combined prevalence of overweight and obesity was high using the two indicators (40.7% by BMI and 41.3% by waist circumference). Age and parity were significant predictors of overweight and obesity. There were significant differences between the mean values of the indicators at different physical activity levels (P0.05). The findings have shown an evidence of the rising trends of overweight and obesity among women in urban areas of The Gambia. Efforts should be made to address the problem of overweight and obesity