Predictors of Overweight and Obesity Among Women in Ghana

The global prevalence of overweight and obesity has more than doubled between 1980 and 2008. Using the 2008 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey data, this study explored the association between biological, behavioural and socio-cultural factors and overweight and obesity among women in Ghana. The bivariate descriptive analysis and the binary logistic regression estimation technique were used to analyse the data. From the results, it was observed that there were significant associations between some of the factors and overweight and obesity. For instance, age was found to have a positive significant association with overweight and obesity for all categories while having four or more children was significant but negatively associated with overweight and obesity. The introduction of socio-cultural factors in the model did not affect the direction of association between age and overweight and obesity even though the strength of association reduced. Amongst the socio-cultural factors introduced in the model, all categories of education and wealth status had a positive significant association with overweight and obesity. The introduction of behavioural factors in the model did not change the nature of predictors of overweight and obesity. Alcohol consumption, contraceptive use and exposure to television were positively associated with overweight and obesity. The results underscore the relevance of biological, socio-cultural and behavioural factors in the planning and implementation of intervention strategies to address overweight and obesity among women in Ghana.