The prevalence and factors associated with overweight and obesity among University of Botswana students

Recently, overweight and obesity were found to be an increasing public health crisis in Botswana. Despite these findings, there is scant epidemiological studies carried out to investigate the prevalence and risk factors of obesity among tertiary students in Botswana. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and factors associated with overweight/obesity among University of Botswana (UB) students. A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted at University of Botswana between February and April 2016 using convenient sampling to recruit participants. A total of 202 students in the age range of 18–30 with mean age 21.59 ± 1.81 completed the study procedures. Self-administered questionnaires were used for data collection, body mass and height were measured from participants in order to calculate Body Mass Index (BMI) to determine whether they fall under the category of being overweight/obese. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 36.8%. Overweight and obesity among students was significantly associated with age (Odds Ratio OR: 1.72, 95% Confidence Interval CI: 1.06–4.46), year of study (OR: 1.60, 95%CI: 1.09–3.99), physical activity and ones opinion about him/her being overweight/obese (p < 0.05). The findings also revealed that gender, faculty of study, family history of obesity and alcohol are not significantly associated with obesity. The prevalence of obesity is relatively high (36.8%) among UB students. Obesity and overweight are associated with age and level of studies. Students practiced unhealthy dietary practices and lifestyle behaviors that should be targeted and modified. Promoting healthy dietary and weight management practices might be of great importance when developing health education programs.