Adiposity and Quality of Life: A Case Study from an Urban Center in Nigeria

ObjectiveTo determine relationship between adiposity indices and quality of life (QOL) of residents of a housing estate in Lagos, Nigeria.DesignCross-sectional survey employing multistep random sampling method.SettingUrban residential estate.ParticipantsThis study involved 900 randomly selected residents of Abesan Housing Estate, Lagos, Nigeria.Main Outcome MeasuresBody mass index (BMI); waist circumference (WC); waist-to-hip ratio (WHR); triceps skin-fold thickness (TSFT); and abdominal skin-fold thickness (ASFT) were measured using International Standard of Anthropometric Assessment methods. QOL was assessed using Short Form-20.AnalysisData were analyzed using the Pearson product moment correlation coefficient and multiple regression analysis.ResultThe mean age of participants was 37.7 ± 14.3 years, with a range of 20 to 80 years. The mean values of adiposity indices were 24.1 ± 4.3 kg/m² (BMI), 11.5 ± 5.3 mm (TSFT), 18.5 ± 6.2 mm (ASFT), 81.8 ± 11.2 cm (WC), and 0.89 ± 0.1 (WHR). Although the overall mean QOL score was 72.02 ± 11.9, women had significantly (P < .05) lower scores (70.1 ± 5.2) than men (73.5 ± 11.3). There was inverse correlation between QOL and each of the age and adiposity indices.Conclusion and ImplicationsQuality of life of the urban-dweller Nigerians decreased with increasing body adiposity and age. This finding suggests the need to further educate the Nigerian public on the association between high body fat and poor health.