Delali M. Badasu

Sociodemographic correlates of obesity among Ghanaian women.

OBJECTIVE To examine the sociodemographic correlates of obesity among Ghanaian women. DESIGN The 2003 and 2008 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey data sets were used to examine the sociodemographic characteristics and the BMI of women aged 15-49 years using descriptive statistics, bivariate and multivariate analyses. SETTING Ghana is a West African country which is divided into ten administrative regions. The country is further divided into the northern and southern sectors. The northern sector includes the three northern regions (Northern, Upper East and Upper Westen regions) and the seven remaining regions form the southern sector. SUBJECTS Women aged 15-49 years whose BMI values were available. RESULTS The overall prevalence of obesity and overweight increased from 25·5 % in 2003 to 30·5 % in 2008. Obesity varied directly with age from 20 to 44 years. Women with higher education had the highest rate of obesity. Obesity was more common among women from wealthy households compared to women from poor households. CONCLUSIONS Obesity and overweight were found to be more common among older women, urban women, married women, women with higher education and women from rich households. Adoption of healthy lifestyles and the implementation of policies that promote healthy living can help reduce the prevalence of overweight and obesity.

Food beliefs and practices in urban poor communities in Accra: implications for health interventions

BackgroundPoor communities in low and middle income countries are reported to experience a higher burden of chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and nutrition-related NCDs. Interventions that build on lay perspectives of risk are recommended. The objective of this study was to examine lay understanding of healthy and unhealthy food practices, factors that influence food choices and the implications for developing population health interventions in three urban poor communities in Accra, Ghana.MethodsThirty lay adults were recruited and interviewed in two poor urban communities in Accra. The interviews were audio-taped, transcribed and analysed thematically. The analysis was guided by the socio-ecological model which focuses on the intrapersonal, interpersonal, community, structural and policy levels of social organisation.ResultsFood was perceived as an edible natural resource, and healthy in its raw state. A food item retained its natural, healthy properties or became unhealthy depending on how it was prepared (e.g. frying vs boiling) and consumed (e.g. early or late in the day). These food beliefs reflected broader social food norms in the community and incorporated ideas aligned with standard expert dietary guidelines. Healthy cooking was perceived as the ability to select good ingredients, use appropriate cooking methods, and maintain food hygiene. Healthy eating was defined in three ways: 1) eating the right meals; 2) eating the right quantity; and 3) eating at the right time. Factors that influenced food choice included finances, physical and psychological state, significant others and community resources.ConclusionsThe findings suggest that beliefs about healthy and unhealthy food practices are rooted in multi-level factors, including individual experience, family dynamics and community factors. The factors influencing food choices are also multilevel. The implications of the findings for the design and content of dietary and health interventions are discussed.

Educational status and beliefs regarding non-communicable diseases among children in Ghana

BackgroundIncreasing prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) has been observed in Ghana as in other developing countries. Past research focused on NCDs among adults. Recent researches, however, provide evidence on NCDs among children in many countries, including Ghana. Beliefs about the cause of NCDs among children may be determined by the socioeconomic status of parents and care givers. This paper examines the relationship between educational status of parents and/or care givers of children with NCDs on admission and their beliefs regarding NCDs among children.MethodsA total of 225 parents and/or care givers of children with NCDS hospitalized in seven hospitals in three regions (Greater Accra, Ashanti and Volta) were selected for the study. Statistical techniques, including the chi-square and multinomial logistic regression, were used for the data analysis.ResultsEducational status is a predictor of care giver’s belief about whether enemies can cause NCDs among children or not. This is the only belief with which all the educational categories have significant relationship. Also, post-secondary/polytechnic (p-value =0.029) and university (p-value = 0.009) levels of education are both predictors of care givers being undecided about the belief that NCDs among children can be caused by enemies, when background characteristics are controlled for. Significant relationship is found between only some educational categories regarding the other types of beliefs and NCDs among children. For example, those with Middle/Juniour Secondary School (JSS)/Juniour High School (JHS) education are significantly undecided about the belief that the sin of parents can cause NCDs among children.ConclusionsEducation is more of a predictor of the belief that enemies can cause NCDs among children than the other types of beliefs. Some categories of ethnicity, residential status and age have significant relationship with the beliefs when background characteristics of the parents and/or care givers were controlled for.

Non-communicable diseases among children in Ghana: health and social concerns of parent/caregivers.

BACKGROUND Globally, there is a progressive rise in the burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). This paper examined the health and social concerns of parents/caregivers on in-patient care for children with NCDs in Ghana. METHODS This was a cross-sectional study in three large health facilities in Ghana (the largest in the South, the largest in the North and the largest in the Eastern part of Ghana. Data was collected with a structured questionnaire among 225 caregivers (≥18 years) of 149 children with NCDs in health facilities in the three regions. Data was analyzed with simple descriptive statistics. RESULTS Most caregivers 169(75.0%) were women, relatively young (median age 35years), mostly married and resided in urban areas. Sickle cell disease was the commonest NCD among the children. All 169(75.0%) caregivers believed children suffer NCDs because of sins of parents/ancestors, 29(12.9%) believed herbalists/spiritualists have insights into treating NCDs and 73(32.6%) have previously used herbs/traditional medicine for childs illness. NCD in children was a burden and caused financial difficulties for families. Most caregivers (>96.0%) indicated NCDs in children should be included in national health insurance benefits package and a comprehensive national NCD policy is needed. CONCLUSION Absence of national NCD policy for children is a major challenge. The burden of care rests mainly on the parents/caregivers. A national strategic intervention on the importance of awareness generation on the causes, risk factors, prevention and treatment of NCDs for families and communities is essential. Government support through national health and social policy initiatives are essential.