Nutrition transition, prevalence of double burden of malnutrition and cardiovascular risk factors in the adult population living in the island of Anjouan, Comoros

Introduction: overweight and obesity has been increasing at an alarming rate, in particular in the developing countries. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of underweight and overweight and to assess the relationship between body mass index and cardiovascular risk factors in adults living in the island of Anjouan. Methods: we conducted a cross-sectional study involving a sample of 902 individuals aged 25 to 64 years using the empirical survey based on "quota sampling". Nutritional status was determined by calculating the body mass index, the abdominal circumference and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR). Blood pressure, abdominal circumference and hip circumference were measured during the interview while capillary fasting blood glucose was measured the next day. Results: the results show an average age of 39.5 (A) over cap +/- 11.67 years. The overall prevalence of underweight, overweight and obesity was 4.1%, 28.6% and 22.2% respectively. The risk factors associated with overweight/ obesity were: advanced age (p=0.004), gender (p=0.000), weight (p=0.000), diabetes (p=0.006), hypertension (p=0.01), abdominal obesity (p=0.000), hip circumference (p=0.000), WHR (p=0.000), time of inactivity/ day (p=0.001) and smoking (p<0.05), in contrast to physical inactivity (p=0.10). Conclusion: these results confirm the presence of a double burden of nutrition. Hence the urgency to implement preventive measures for noncommunicable diseases.