Prevalence of Obesity and its primary comorbidities among patients attending the dietetics out-patient clinic in a tertiary health institution in southwestern Nigeria

Abstract

Objective: The study assessed the prevalence of obesity and its co-morbidities among patients attending the dietetics outpatient clinic of the hospital. Methods: The prevalence of obesity and its co-morbidities were assessed in this retrospective study from the available in the outpatient clinic of the Dietetics Department in University College Hospital Ibadan, Oyo State. Age, gender, occupation, religion, height, weight, diagnosed diseases were extracted from the record of individuals who presented at the clinic over 72 months. Data obtained was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20. Result: A total of 3248 patients’ records were assessed. Of these, 1174 (36.15%) patients met the criteria for obesity according to their recorded BMI; 614(52.3%) had obesity class I (BMI 30–34.9), 343(29.2%) had obesity class II (BMI 35–39.9) and 217(18.5%) had obesity class III (BMI ≥40). Obesity was significantly higher amongst females than males (p<0.05). The most prevalent single co-morbidity was diabetes 22.3%, while the most prevalent double co-morbidity was hypertension/diabetes 22.9%. Conclusion: The prevalence of obesity amongst patients was significant. Diabetes and hypertension were the most dominant co-morbidity. Interventions should be developed to combat the increasing prevalence of the diseases and these should involve educating the public and clinical management of the diseases upon identification.