The Prevalence of Obesity and its Relationship with Lifestyle Factors in Jamaica
MANABU ICHINOHE, REIZO MITA,1 KAZUKO SAITO,2 HIDEICHI SHINKAWA, SHIGEYUKI NAKAJI,3 MICHAEL COOMBS,4 ALICE CARNEY,4 BEVERLEY WRIGHT4 and EVA LEWIS FULLER5
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, 1Department of Social Medicine, Hirosaki University School of Medicine, Hirosaki, Japan, 2Towada Health Center, Aomori Prefectural Government, Towada, Japan, 3Department of Public Health, Hirosaki University School of Medicine, Hirosaki, Japan, 4Southern Regional Health Authority, Mandeville, Jamaica, and 5Ministry of Health, Kingston, Jamaica
We surveyed the prevalence of obesity in the general population in Jamaica, and examined the relationship between it and lifestyle. The survey population consisted of 1,935 inhabitants in Jamaica, whose body weight, height, marital status, educational history, employment status and other obesity-associated lifestyle factors were surveyed. Six major findings emerged. The first finding is that the proportion of obesity in women was very high, and there was a big gender difference. Secondly, a lower prevalence towards obesity was associated with cohabitation of the subjects in both genders, and higher educational levels in female subjects. Thirdly, the proportion of the subjects who considered their weight to be quite acceptable was higher in the obese/overweight groups in both genders. Fourthly, exercise frequency showed a negative correlation with the body mass index (BMI) in men, and the frequency of exercising was apparently lower in women than in men. Fifthly, as for dietary factors, in both genders vegetables showed a negative correlation with the BMI. Sixthly, non-smokers were also associated with a lower obesity prevalence in men. In conclusions, these findings suggest that social and lifestyle factors such as the educational level, marital status and dietary habits of the general population influence Jamaican obesity.
keywords ——obesity; body mass index; social factors; lifestyle; Jamaica
© 2005 Tohoku University Medical Press
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Tohoku J. Exp. Med., 2005, 207, 21-32
Correspondence: Shigeyuki Nakaji, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Social Medicine, Hirosaki University School of Medicine, Zaifu-cho 5, Hirosaki, 036-8562 Japan.
e-mail nakaji@cc.hirosaki-u.ac.jp