Socio-economic determinants of obesity of Namibian women in the reproductive age group: A binary logistic regression model
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Date
2013
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Namibia
Abstract
Obesity leads to reduced lifer expectancy, increased likelihood of a wide range
of diseases Obesity also lowers self-esteem and has negative consequences
on the cognitive and social development of a person. World-wide, obesity is a
leading yet preventable cause of death and its prevalence both in children
and adults is increasing day by day. Compared to men, women have a relatively
higher burden of disease attributable to overweight and obesity.
This paper establishes the socio-economic factors influencing obesity in women
in Namibia using logistic regression. The outcome variable was Obesity (1 for
Obese, 0 for Not obese). The independent variables included the total number
of children ever born to the woman, her place of residence; current age of the
woman, her highest level of education, her economic status, contraceptive use,
smoking habits, age of the woman at first birth, place of residence, region, and
religion. Results indicate that in Namibia, obesity of a woman is associated with the age of the woman, her highest level of education, her economic status, contraceptive use, smoking habits, and the age of the woman at first birth. Policy and intervention programs to reduce obesity should focus on encouraging women
to delay onset of child-bearing, to embark on lifelong regular exercise and diet
programs. Even though smoking was inversely related to obesity, women should
be encouraged to stop smoking because of its other devastating health effects.
Description
Keywords
Obesity, Namibian women, Productive age group
Citation
Pazvakawambwa, L. & Tjipueja, W. (2013). Socio-economic determinants of obesity of Namibian women in the reproductive age group: A binary logistic regression model. Journal for Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences, 2(2): 81-93.