SynthesisAfrican health sciences2020
Analysis of main risk factors contributing to obesity in the region of East Africa: meta-analysis.
Synthesis in African health sciences, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed.
- Patterns and clusters of diet in relation to metabolic syndrome among adults in Ubungo (urban) and Kilindi (rural) districts, Tanzania: a cross-sectional study.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Prevalence and factors associated with obesity in Rwanda: Evidence from the 2022 NCD STEPS Survey.PLOS global public health · 2026Article
- Maternal overweight and obesity among pregnant women in public hospitals of eastern Ethiopia: Multicentre cross-sectional study.SAGE open medicine · 2026Article
- Obesity Kuznets Curve conjecture assessment in African economies: conditioning effects of urbanization, food, and trade using gender-based regional analysis.Globalization and health · 2025Article
- Temporal Trends of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Burden in the East and Southeast Asia from 1990 to 2021: An Analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021.International journal of women's health · 2025Article
- Exploring the multifaceted factors influencing overweight and obesity: a scoping review.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices regarding Obesity among Population of Urban (Douala) and Rural (Manjo) Areas in Cameroon.International journal of chronic diseases · 2023Article
- Then and Now: Investigating Anthropometrics and Child Mortality among Females in Malawi.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Overweight and obesity in south central Uganda: A population-based study.PLOS global public health · 2022Article
- Reproductive health issues, infections and non-communicable diseases.African health sciences · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundOver a few decades obesity has become a major global health problem. Its prevalence worldwide has more than doubled since 1980. The situation is expected to worsen in the future, especially in the developing countries that experience nutrition transition due to economic growth. It contributes to reduction in malnutrition which supports an increase in obesity prevalence.
objectivesThe aim of this study was to analyse the predictors of obesity in the region of East Africa.
methodsMeta-analysis of existing studies was used in order to find the different risk factors and their significance in obesity development. Data extracted from 16 published academic research articles described the situation in East African countries. The significance of the effect of each variable was tested by means of an asymptotic chi-square test, or Fisher's exact (factorial) test and the risk ratios were calculated.
resultsBased on the chi-square test and the risk ratios of the aggregated data, three risk factors were found to be significant in the development of obesity - gender, type of residence and socio-economic status. In East African countries, women are significantly more likely to be obese. Living in an urban area and socioeconomic status are also positively associated with obesity. Because of insufficient data three other risk factors did not prove to be of any significance - alcohol consumption, smoking and education level.
conclusionConclusions of this meta-analysis confirm world trends but we also found results that are not in line with them (e.g. education). This meta-analysis confirms the huge existing research gap concerning obesity predictors in the East African region.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.