Background: The emergence of a nutrition transition in developing countries
might lead to higher prevalence of obesity and related adverse health effects. In Cameroon,
urbanization growth rate is one of the highest in sub-Saharan Africa. Such dramatic
demographic change favours important modifications, notably in nutritional patterns.
Aim: In this paper we examine the current prevalence of overweight and obesity in Yaounde´,
the capital city of Cameroon and search for possible causal factors. Detrimental
consequences of overweight are also discussed.
Material and methods: Samples of adults (519 women, 252 men) of all ages in all districts of
Yaounde´ were subjected to anthropometric and body composition measurements, blood
pressure and resting heart rate determination, and interviewer-administered questionnaires
on socio-demography, smoking habits, physical activity, self-perception of body weight and
health status.
Results: In both sexes body mass index (BMI) increases with age and peaks in the years of
maturity. These changes are related to changes in adiposity. Prevalence rates of overweight
(BMI 5 25) and obesity (BMI 5 30) increase from20 to 29 years and peak at 40–49 years
in men and at 50–59 years in women before starting to decline. One woman in two is
overweight and one woman in five is obese, whereas one-third of men are overweight
and only 5% are obese. Obese subjects have a larger age-adjusted waist to hip ratio
(WHR) than their non-overweight counterparts, attesting that fat gain is oriented towards
a more abdominal fat mass distribution. The length of residence in Yaounde´, increasing
education level, occupation, ethnicity, physical inactivity and smoking practices appear to
influence early overweight and/or obesity. No parity effect is observed in women. From the
present study, it appears that obesity, and especially obesity in women, could be less benign
than that described in other studies in Africa.
Conclusion: Research is needed in Cameroon, including aetiological and cohort studies
aimed at the quantification of morbidity and mortality risks associated with overweight
and obesity.