Prevalence of overweight and obesity is increasing in various populations, and is becoming a huge problem among occupational/professional groups that are perceived as preponderantly sedentary. An attendant acquisition or imposition of a lowered physical activity level and other lifestyle with such occupations may contribute to the development of obesity and overweight. The objectives of the study were to determine the prevalence of obesity and overweight among nurses using Body Mass Indexes (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratios (WHR), to assess dietary habits, ascertain daily lifestyles in terms of physical activity and nutrition and to determine the associations between age, marital status, dietary habit, physical activity and BMI/WHR. The study was conducted in the four main hospitals within the Tamale metropolis of the Northern region of Ghana. A cross sectional analytical design was used for the study. Two hundred and twenty (220) nurses were selected based on a probability proportionate to size (PPS). A structured questionnaire was used as the instrument for data collection and both qualitative and quantitative data were collected and analysed statistically using SPSS. The ages of respondents ranged from 20 to 60 years. The 20-30 years age group had the highest number of respondents (67.3%) with the age group of 41-50 having the lowest number (5.0%). In terms of gender, females dominated with 146 respondents representing 66.4% and males were 74 representing 33.6%. One hundred and nineteen (54.0%) of the respondents were married whilst 92 (41.8%) were never married, 6 (2.7%) were widowed and 3 (1.4%) were divorced in that order. The prevalence of overweight and obesity among the nurses were 26.4% and 16.9% respectively. Physical inactivity and dietary habit especially skipping of meals was found to be contributing factors to overweight and obesity among the nurses. Age, gender and marital status had an influence on the level of obesity and overweight among the nurses as the older nurses were more likely to be obese than the younger ones, female nurses were significantly more likely to be obese than the males, whilst those married had a higher tendency to be overweight and obese than the never married, divorced and widowed respectively. Prevalence of overweight and obesity among nurses in the Tamale metropolis is high and of public health significance. Lifestyle and eating habits associated with the nature of the occupation, especially skipping of meals and a predominance of physical inactivity may be significant contributors to the high prevalence of obesity and overweight among the nurses.

The perception that consumers in low Income Countries have poor knowledge and understanding of food or nutrition labels and, therefore, do not rely on them at the point of purchase is rife. This study was aimed at assessing consumer knowledge and understanding and its influence on food label usage in the Tamale Metropolis of Ghana. An analytical cross-sectional study design was employed and mainly literate adults aged 15 to 60 years were conveniently selected and interviewed at various points-of-purchase including supermarkets, provision shops and other trading outlets. Data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) for windows (version 19.0). Percentages were calculated and reported for descriptive statistics whilst chi-square tests of significance and regression analysis were employed to measure relationships between variables. Statistically significant differences were accepted at p<0.05. Out of the 384 consumers interviewed, 98.4% (n=378) were aware of food labels, yet, only 66.7 % (n=256) claimed they understood the labels. A large proportion (95.8%) also claimed they checked but just about 51.9% said they did so "always". Most (89.3%) claimed they are influenced by key factors on the labels with the level of influence being highest with nutrition content, followed by expiry date, health-claim, price and advertisement respectively. However, at the point-of-purchase most (79.4) revealed they looked out for expiry date. Socio-demographic characteristics including gender (p=0.009), age (p=0.017), occupation (p=0.042), educational level (p=0.022) and income (p=0.051) were significantly associated with consumers' understanding of the labels, with gender remaining the only significant predictor. Furthermore, age (p=0.054), occupation (p=0.0.007) and educational level (p<0.001) showed significant associations with food label usage. Education level (Tertiary) emerged the only significant predictor of food label usage. The level of knowledge and use of nutrition information on food packages among predominantly literate consumers in the Tamale Metropolis of Ghana can be compared to that of consumers in other parts of the world. These results may inform the need for developing an approach towards future information and education strategies for health professionals and other stakeholders interested in consumer awareness activities.