If you are told Africa, you are unlikely to think of obesity or diabetes first. These diseases are often attributed to so-called developed countries, but the African continent is no longer left out. The evolution of its population and its way of life are giving rise to new health challenges, including the increase in the number of overweight people.
Researchers from Imperial College London analyzed several studies carried out between 1980 and 2014 in Africa and published their results in International Journal of Epidemiology. Data was obtained on 1.2 million people for body mass index (BMI), and 182,000 for diabetes. BMI is a weight indicator that relates mass to height. Individuals are considered normal weight when it is between 18.5 and 25. Beyond that, it is overweight and then obesity. The scientists then classified these results into five regions: North, East, South, West and Center, comprising 53 countries.
The North and the South most affected
Studies reveal that the average BMI increased from 21 to 23 in men, and from 21.9 to 24.9 in women between 1980 and 2014. The North and South regions are above the average, unlike the other regions. The prevalence of diabetes follows the same curve, going from 3.4% of the affected population to 8.5% among men, and from 4.1% to 8.9% among women over the same period. The regional disparities are similar to those of obesity, except for women in the South who remain in the average.
These trends represent pressure on African health systems already undermined by the fight against diseases such as AIDS or malaria, and worry researchers. They believe that the differences between regions are due to dietary habits and the sedentarization of populations, which are more significant in the countries of the Maghreb or South Africa.
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