When considering the major contributors to morbidity and mortality, a shift is evident
in both the pattern and burden of disease as a result of the epidemiological transition.
Specifically, the shift involves a move from primarily infectious diseases to noncommunicable
diseases (NCDs), such as stroke, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and
chronic respiratory disease. Unhealthy lifestyle behaviours, particularly poor dietary
practices, physical inactivity and smoking are major risk factors for conditions like
overweight and obesity. Obesity has been identified as a major risk factor for some
NCDs. NCDs consequently not only lead to reduced quality of life given their
protracted nature, but they also lead to premature deaths. It is against the backdrop of
the increasing prevalence of these lifestyle diseases amongst the youth in sub-Saharan
Africa that the present study is conducted.
This study examined the relationship between lifestyle behaviours and body mass index
(BMI) among Ghanaian youth aged 15 to 34 years. The study used the data from the
2008 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey and applied a purposive sampling
technique to eight focus group discussions. Both descriptive and analytical statistical
techniques such as domain analysis and regression analyses were employed for the
quantitative component of the data, while thematic analysis was used to analyse the
qualitative data.
The analysis identified various socio-demographic characteristics associated with
dietary behaviour (fruit and vegetable consumption), health risk behaviour (smoking
and alcohol use), physical activity, hours of rest and water consumption amongst male
and female youth. Results however showed no support for the relationship between
total lifestyle (poor, good and very good lifestyle) and BMI of female youth. However,
an obesity prevalence rate of 7.77% indicates a risk for NCDs in female youth. Further,
varied perceptions regarding body sizes in the Ghanaian context were observed and the
youth were noted to form perceptions about lifestyle behaviours, which influence the
choices they make as well as the barriers they perceive to be preventing them from
practicing healthy lifestyle behaviours.
The fact that socio-demographic factors impact the lifestyles of the youth suggests that
policies and programmes that seek to promote healthy lifestyles should aim to reduce
the risk of NCDs by considering these differential factors between males and females.
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The presence of obesity is a risk factor for NCDs among the youth and requires intense
policies to reduce this risk. Additionally, contextual factors perceived to be related to
BMI and lifestyle behaviours need to be addressed in order to reduce the risk of NCDs
among the youth.