Body Mass Index and Associated Factors of Obesity and Underweight in a General Out-patient Population in a Tertiary Hospital in Nigeria

Abstract

Abstract:There is increasing incidence of abnormal weight changes in Sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria. Factors which influence body mass index (BMI) in developing countries have not been completely identified. Weight changes may be observed even in general out patients, unrelated to the major complaints for which the patients are presenting in clinics. This study was set out to evaluate BMI and potential risk factors of underweight and obesity in subjects attending the general outpatient clinic in Federal Medical Centre, Owerri, Nigeria. This was a cross-sectional study conducted on general out patients. Body mass index was determined. Relevant investigations were performed. Association of weight changes with their potential risk factors and the strength of variables to predict BMI, underweight and obesity were determined. The mean BMI of the subjects was 25.5± 6.5kg/m 2 . Underweight was present in 14(10.3%), normal weight in 57(41.9%), overweight in 24(17.6%) and obesity in 41(30.1%) of the subjects. There was significant association between BMI and hemoglobin (Hb), 24-hour urine osmolality (24HUOsm), serum cholesterol, serum low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL), serum high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), as well as serum triglyceride. There was significant but poor correlation between BMI and spot urine protein (SUP), spot urine creatinine (SUCr), spot urine osmolality (SUOsm), serum cholesterol, serum triglyceride, serum HDL, serum LDL, as well as Hb. Spot urine protein, SUOsm, and Hb predicted BMI. Furthermore, SUOsm, serum cholesterol, serum HDL and serum LDL predicted obesity. The prevalence of underweight (10.3%) and obesity (30.1%) were high in the general out patients. Abnormalities of serum lipids, proteinuric renal disease with dilute urine were common in these subjects. There is a need for clinicians to routinely assess BMI and further search for anemia, dyslipidemia and renal damage in subjects with underweight and obesity attending the general out-patient clinics.

Factors of Low CD4 Cells Count in Treatment-naïve HIV Subjects in Southeast Nigeria

“…All tests were two-tailed. P ≤ 0.05 was taken as statistically significant [19][20][21][22][23].The potential risk factors of low CD4 cells count evaluated were SUCr, SUOsm, BMI, serum triglyceride, serum HDL, SCr, SUP, 24HUCr, 24HUOsm, ClCr, 24-hour urine volume (24HUV) and Hb. …”