Overweight and obesity among Ghanaian residents in The Netherlands: how do they weigh against their urban and rural counterparts in Ghana?
OBJECTIVE
To investigate differences in overweight and obesity between first-generation Dutch-Ghanaian migrants in The Netherlands and their rural and urban counterparts in Ghana.


METHODS
Cross-sectional study.


METHODS
A total of 1471 Ghanaians (rural Ghanaians, n 532; urban Ghanaians, n 787; Dutch-Ghanaians, n 152) aged > or = 17 years.


METHODS
Overweight (BMI > or = 25 kg/m2) and obesity (BMI > or = 30 kg/m2).


RESULTS
Dutch-Ghanaians had a significantly higher prevalence of overweight and obesity (men 69.1%, women 79.5%) than urban Ghanaians (men 22.0%, women 50.0%) and rural Ghanaians (men 10.3%, women 19.0%). Urban Ghanaian men and women also had a significantly higher prevalence of overweight and obesity than their rural Ghanaian counterparts. In a logistic regression analysis adjusting for age and education, the odds ratios for being overweight or obese were 3.10 (95% CI 1.75, 5.48) for urban Ghanaian men and 19.06 (95% CI 8.98, 40.43) for Dutch-Ghanaian men compared with rural Ghanaian men. Among women, the odds ratios for being overweight and obese were 3.84 (95% CI 2.66, 5.53) for urban Ghanaians and 11.4 (95% CI 5.97, 22.07) for Dutch-Ghanaians compared with their rural Ghanaian counterparts.


CONCLUSIONS
Our current findings give credence to earlier reports of an increase in the prevalence of overweight/obesity with urbanization within Africa and migration to industrialized countries. These findings indicate an urgent need to further assess migration-related factors that lead to these increases in overweight and obesity among migrants with non-Western background, and their impact on overweight- and obesity-related illnesses such as diabetes among these populations.
Agyemang
Charles
C
Department of Social Medicine, Academic Medical Centre, University of Amsterdam, Meibergdreef 9, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands. c.o.agyemang@amc.uva.nl
Owusu-Dabo
Ellis
E
de Jonge
Ank
A
Martins
David
D
Ogedegbe
Gbenga
G
Stronks
Karien
K