Sedentary behavior and central obesity among adults working in public offices in Addis Ababa,Ethiopia
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2020-06
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Addis Abeba University
Abstract
Background:
As a result of modernization, prolonged time spent in sedentary behaviors has emerged as an
important behavioral risk factor for chronic diseases, independent of leisure-time physical
activity. Sedentary lifestyles are prevalent among office workers and little is known whether
they are being predisposed to central obesity, which is an independent risk factor for
cardiovascular and metabolic disorders. Understanding the domains of sedentary behavior,
which are prevalent among office workers, is also important for targeted interventions.
Objective:
To assess the domains of sedentary behavior, and its association with central obesity among
adults working in public offices in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Methods:
Institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted among a sample of 1230 working
adults. A two-stage random sampling technique was employed. Data was collected by
interviewer-administered questionnaire while central obesity was measured based on WHO
recommendation for waist circumference measurement. Data was entered and cleaned using
EPI INFO version 7 and exported to STATA version 15.1 for analysis. Descriptive statistics
was used to present the study results while binary and then, multivariable logistic regression
were employed to examine the association between sedentary behavior and central obesity,
adjusting for confounders. Adjusted odds ratio with 95% Confidence Interval was computed
to evaluate the association and p-value <0.05 was used to declare statistical significance.
Results:
The overall magnitude of central obesity among adults working in public offices of Addis
Ababa was 49.4%. The proportion of workers who did not meet the WHO recommendation
of physical activity for health was 71.4%. Workers who spent sitting at least 5 hours at work
had 4.9-times higher odds of central obesity than those who sat for less than 5 hours, AOR
(95% CI) = 4.9 (3.0, 8.1). Those who spent at least 2 hours sedentary while watching
televisions and during other leisure activities also had 3.5- and 6.8-times higher odds of central
obesity than those who sat for less than 2 hours, AOR (95% CI) = 3.5 (2.3, 5.5) and 6.8 (4.1,
11.4), respectively, after adjusting for observed covariates including age and sex. Conclusions and recommendations:
The magnitude of central obesity is substantially high among office workers in Addis Ababa.
Workers who spent significant time sitting at work are more likely to have central obesity,
while time spent sedentary while watching televisions and during other leisure activities are
important contributors to central obesity. Hence, interventions should target those who spend
significant time sedentary at work and during their leisure time, mainly through watching
televisions.
Description
Keywords
Sedentary behavior ,Central obesity , adults , public offices