Obesity in South Africa: Challenges for government and health professionals

Public Health Nutrition

Volumn 8, Issue 5, 2005, Pages 491-500

  Kruger, H Salome ^a   Puoane, Thandi ^b   Senekal, Marjanne ^c   Van Der Merwe, M Theresa ^d  

^a NORTH WEST UNIVERSITY   (South Africa)

^b UNIVERSITY OF THE WESTERN CAPE   (South Africa)

^c STELLENBOSCH UNIVERSITY   (South Africa)

^d UNIVERSITY OF THE WITWATERSRAND   (South Africa)

Author keywords

Cultural beliefs; Diet; Insulin resistance; Obesity; Physical activity; South Africa; Urbanisation

Indexed keywords

ANALGESIC AGENT; ANTIHYPERTENSIVE AGENT; ANTILIPEMIC AGENT; ORAL ANTIDIABETIC AGENT;

BARIATRIC SURGERY; BEHAVIOR THERAPY; CONFERENCE PAPER; DIETARY INTAKE; EATING HABIT; EVIDENCE BASED MEDICINE; GENETIC SUSCEPTIBILITY; GOVERNMENT REGULATION; HEALTH CARE PLANNING; HEALTH PRACTITIONER; HEALTH PROGRAM; HIGH RISK PATIENT; HUMAN; INSULIN RESISTANCE; OBESITY; PATIENT EDUCATION; PHYSICAL ACTIVITY; PRACTICE GUIDELINE; PREVALENCE; PRIORITY JOURNAL; SOUTH AFRICA; URBANIZATION;

ADOLESCENT; ADULT; CHILD; DIET; DIETARY FATS; EXERCISE; FEMALE; HEALTH KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDES, PRACTICE; HEALTH PROMOTION; HUMANS; MALE; MIDDLE AGED; OBESITY; PATIENT EDUCATION; PREVALENCE; SOCIOECONOMIC FACTORS; SOUTH AFRICA; URBANIZATION;

EID: 26444584365     PISSN: 13689800     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1079/PHN2005785     Document Type: Conference Paper

References (88)

1. International Association for the study of obesity (IASO). IASO Annual Review 2003-2004. London: IASO, 2004.
2. Popkin BM. The nutrition transition in low-income countries: an emerging crisis. Nutrition Reviews 1994; 52(9): 285-95.
3. Steyn NP, Labadarios MB, Mauder E, Nel J, Lombard C. Secondary anthropometric data analysis of the national food consumption survey in South Africa: the double burden. Nutrition 2005; 21: 4-13.
4. Mollentze WF, Moore AJ, Steyn AF, Joubert G, Steyn K, Oosthuizen GM. Coronary heart disease risk factors in a rural and urban Orange Free State population. South African Medical Journal 1995; 85(2): 90-6.
5. Bourne LT, Lambert EV, Steyn K. Where does the black population of South Africa stand on the nutrition transition? Public Health Nutrition 2002; 5(1A): 157-62.
6. Vorster HH. The emergence of cardiovascular disease during urbanisation of Africans. Public Health Nutrition 2002; 5(1A): 239-43.
7. van der Merwe MT. Obesity in South Africa - the southern tip of a big mountain. Continuing Medical Education 2001; 19: 549-50.
8. Steyn NP, Nel JH, Tichelaar HY, Prinsloo JF, Dhansay MA, Oelofse A, et al. Malnutrition in Pedi preschool children, their siblings and caretakers. South African Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1994; 7: 12-8.
9. Mvo Z, Dick J, Steyn K. Perceptions of overweight African women about acceptable body size of women and children. Curationis 1999; 22(2): 27-31.
10. Walker ARP, Walker BF, Manetsi B, Tsotetsi NG, Walker AJ. Obesity in black women in Soweto, South Africa: minimal effects on hypertension, hyperlipidaemia and hyperglycaemia. Journal of the Royal Society of Health 1990; 110(3): 101-3.
11. Levitt NS, Katzenellenbogen JM, Bradshaw D, Hoffman MN, Bonnici F. The prevalence and risk factors for NIDDM in urban Africans in Cape Town, South Africa. Diabetes Care 1993; 16(4): 601-7.
12. Levitt NS, Steyn K, Lambert EV, Fourie JM, Rossouw K. Modifiable risk factors for type 1 diabetes mellitus in a peri-urban community in South Africa. Diabetic Medicine 1999; 16(11): 946-50.
13. Kruger HS, Venter CS, Vorster HH. Obesity in African women in the North West Province, South Africa is associated with an increased risk of non-communicable diseases: the THUSA study. British Journal of Nutrition 2001; 86(6): 733-40.
14. World Health Organization (WHO). Integrated Management of Cardiovascular Risk. Report of a WHO Meeting, Geneva, 9-12 July 2002. Non-communicable Diseases and Mental Health Publication. Geneva. WHO 2002.
15. Allison DB, Zannolli R, Narayan KMV. The health care costs of obesity in the United States. American Journal of Public Health 1999; 89(8): 1194-9.
16. World Health Organization (WHO). Obesity: Preventing and Managing the Global Epidemic. Report of a WHO Consultation. WHO Technical Report Series No. 894. Geneva: WHO, 2000.
17. Vorster HH, Oosthuizen W, Jerling JC, Veldman FJ, Burger HM. The Nutritional Status of South Africans. A Review of the Literature from 1975-1996. Durban: Health Systems Trust, 1996.
18. Cameron N, Getz B. Sex differences in the prevalence of obesity in rural African adolescents. International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders 1997; 21(9): 775-82.
19. Monyeki KD, van Lenthe FJ, Steyn NP. Obesity: does it occur in African children in a rural community in South Africa? International Journal of Epidemiology 1999; 28(2): 287-92.
20. Cole TJ, Bellizzi MC, Flegal KM, Dietz WH. Establishing a standard definition for child overweight and obesity worldwide: international survey. British Medical Journal 2000; 320(7244): 1240-3.
21. Medical Research Council. Umthente uhlaba usamila: The 1st South African National Youth Risk Behaviour Survey [online]. Pretoria: Department of Health, 2002. Available at http://www.mrc.ac.za/healthpromotion/healthpromotion. htm
22. Popkin BM, Richards MK, Monteiro CA. Stunting is associated with overweight in children of four nations that are undergoing the nutrition transition. Journal of Nutrition 1996; 126(12): 3009-16.
23. Jinabhai CC, Taylor M, Sullivan KR. Implications of the prevalence of stunting, overweight and obesity amongst South African primary school children: a possible nutritional transition? European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2003; 57(2): 358-65.
24. Mukuddem-Petersen J, Kruger HS. Association between stunting and overweight among 10-15-y-old children in the North West Province of South Africa: the THUSA BANA Study. International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders 2004; 28(7): 842-51.
25. Cameron N, Wright MM, Griffiths PL, Norris SA, Pettifor JM. Stunting at 2 years in relation to body composition at 9 years in African urban children. Obesity Research 2005; 13(1): 131-6.
26. Kruger HS, Margetts BM, Vorster HH. Evidence for relatively greater subcutaneous fat deposition in stunted girls in the North West Province, South Africa as compared to non-stunted girls. Nutrition 2004; 20(6): 564-9.
27. Hoffman DJ, Sawaya AL, Verreschi I, Tucker KL, Roberts SB. Why are nutritionally stunted children at increased risk of obesity? Studies of metabolic rate and fat oxidation in shantytown children from Sao Paulo, Brazil. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2000; 72(3): 702-7.
28. Steyn NP, Senekal M, Brits S, Alberts M, Mashego T, Nel JH. Weight and health status of black female students. South African Medical Journal 2000; 90(2): 146-52.
29. Cilliers J.Impact of a multidimensional weight-management programme on the weight status and associated factors of first-year female students. MSc thesis, Nutrition Science, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa, 2004.
30. Senekal M. Weight fluctuations experienced by female students at university and guidelines for long-term weight management. PhD dissertation, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa, 1994.
31. Puoane T, Steyn K, Bradshaw D, Laubscher R, Fourie J, Lambert V, et al. Obesity in South Africa: the South African demographic and health survey. Obesity Research 2002; 10(10): 1038-48.
32. Steyn K, Bourne LT, Jooste PL, Fourie JL, Rossouw K, Lombard C. Anthropometric profile of black population of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. East African Medical Journal 1998; 75(1): 35-40.
33. Benade AJS, Oelofse A, Faber M. Body composition of different ethnic groups in South Africa. Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1996; 5(4): 226-8.
34. Kruger HS, Venter CS, Vorster HH, Margetts BM. Physical inactivity is the major determinant of obesity in black women in the North West Province, South Africa: the THUSA study. Nutrition 2002; 18(5): 422-7.
35. Senekal M, Steyn NP, Nel JH. Factors associated with overweight/obesity in economically active South African populations. Ethnicity & Disease 2003; 13(1): 109-16.
36. MacIntyre UE, Kruger HS, Venter CS, Vorster HH. Dietary intakes of an African population in different stages of transition in the North West Province, South Africa: the THUSA study. Nutrition Research 2002; 22: 239-56.
37. Khan MK, Bowman B. Obesity: a major public health problem. Annual Review of Nutrition 1999; 19: xiii-xvii.
38. Chopra M, Galbraith S, Darnton-Hill I. A global response to a global problem: the epidemic of overnutrition. Bulletin of the World Health Organization 2002; 80(12): 952-8.
39. Vorster HH, Wissing MP, Venter CS, Kruger HS, Malan NT, de Ridder JH, et al. The impact of urbanisation on physical, physiological and mental health of Africans in the North West Province of South Africa: the THUSA study. South African Journal of Science 2000; 96: 505-14.
40. May J, ed. Poverty and Inequality in South Africa: Meeting the Challenge. Cape Town: David Philip Publishers, 2000.
41. Ball K, Mishra G, Crawford D. Which aspects of socio-economic status are related to obesity among men and women? International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders 2002; 26(4): 559-65.
42. Renzaho AMN. Fat, rich and beautiful: changing socio-cultural paradigms associated with obesity risk, nutritional status and refugee children from sub-Saharan Africa. Health and Place 2004; 10(1): 105-13.
43. Kumanyika SK. Special issues regarding obesity in minority populations. Annals of Internal Medicine 1993; 119(7): 650-4.
44. Kruger HS, van Aardt AM. Obese black women's knowledge of and attitude to weight control. Journal of Family Ecology and Consumer Science 1998; 26(2): 121-30.
45. Puoane T, Fourie JM, Shapiro M, Rosling L, Tshaka NC, Oelofse A. 'Big is beautiful' - an exploration of urban black women in South Africa. South African Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2005; 18(1): 6-15.
46. Senekal M, Steyn NP, Mashego T-AB, Nel JH. Evaluation of body shape, eating disorders and weight management related parameters in black female students of rural and urban origins. South African Journal of Psychology 2001; 31: 45-53.
47. Faber M, Kruger HS. Dietary intake, perceptions regarding body weight, and attitudes toward weight control of normal weight, overweight, and obese black females in a rural village in South Africa. Ethnicity & Disease 2005; 15(2): 238-45.
48. Chopra M, Puoane T. Prevention of diabetes throughout an obesogenic world. Diabetes Voice 2003; 48: 24-6.
49. Bourne LT, Langenhoven ML, Steyn K, Jooste PL, Nesamvuni AE, Loubser JA. The food and meal pattern in the urban African population of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa: the BRISK study. Central African Journal of Medicine 1994; 40: 140-8.
50. Cress-Williams L. Food micro-enterprises for food security in an urban slum community in East London: development of an awareness creating programme. MSc thesis, Consumer Science, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa, December, 1998.
51. Kruger HS, Venter CS, Vorster HH. Physical inactivity as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease in communities undergoing the rural to urban transition: the THUSA study. Cardiovascular Journal of South Africa 2003; 14(1): 16-23.
52. Maia JAR, Prista A, Marques AT. Impact of physical activity and maturation in physical fitness. A path analytic study in youth from Maputo, Mozambique. In: Casagrande G, Viviane F, eds. Physical Activity and Health: Physiological, Epidemiological and Behavioural Aspects. Padua: Unipress, 1998; 147-56.
53. Wyndham CH. Mortality from cardiovascular diseases in the various population groups in the Republic of South Africa. South African Medical Journal 1979; 56(24): 1023-30.
54. Seftel HC, Asvat MS, Joffe BI, Raal FJ, Panz VR, Vermaak WJ, et al. Selected risk factors for coronary heart disease in male scholars from the major South African population groups. South African Medical Journal 1993; 83(12): 891-7.
55. Joffe BI, Seftel HC. Diabetes mellitus in the black communities of southern Africa. Journal of Internal Medicine 1994; 235(2): 137-42.
56. van der Merwe MT, Crowther NJ, Schlaphoff GP, Gray IP, Joffe BI, Lonnroth PN. Evidence for insulin resistance in black women from South Africa. International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders 2000; 24(10): 1340-6.
57. Omar MA, Seedat MA, Motala AA, Dyer RB, Becker P. The prevalence of diabetes mellitus and impaired glucose tolerance in a group of urban South African blacks. South African Medical Journal 1993; 83(9): 641-3.
58. Seedat YK. Race, environment and blood pressure: the South African experience. Journal of Hypertension 1983; 1(1): 7-12.
59. Nthangeni G, Steyn NP, Alberts M, Steyn K, Levitt NS, Laubscher R, et al. Dietary intake and barriers to dietary compliance in black type 2 diabetic patients attending primary health-care services. Public Health Nutrition 2002; 5(2): 329-38.
60. Motala AA, Pirie FJ, Gouws E, Amod A, Omar MA. High incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus in South African Indians: a 10-year follow-up study. Diabetic Medicine 2003; 20(1): 23-30.
61. Rheeder P, Stolk RP, Veenhouwer JF, Grobbee DE. The metabolic syndrome in black hypertensive women - waist circumference more strongly related than body mass index. South African Medical Journal 2002; 92(8): 637-41.
62. Rotchford AP, Rotchford KM. Diabetes in rural South Africa - an assessment of care and complications. South African Medical Journal 2002; 92(7): 536-41.
63. Wing JR, van der Merwe MT, Joffe BI, Panz VR, Seftel HC. Insulin-mediated glucose disposal in black South Africans with essential hypertension. Quarterly Journal of Medicine 1994; 87(7): 431-6.
64. Buthelezi EP, Van der Merwe MT, Lönnroth PN, Gray IP, Crowther NJ. Ethnic differences in the responsiveness of adipocyte lipolytic activity to insulin. Obesity Research 2000; 8(2): 171-8.
65. van der Merwe MT, Crowther NJ, Schlaphoff GP, Boyd IH, Gray IP, Joffe BI, et al. Lactate and glycerol release from the subcutaneous adipose tissue of obese urban women from South Africa; important metabolic implications. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 1998; 83(11): 4084-91.
66. van der Merwe MT, Panz VR, Crowther NJ, Schlaphoff GP, Gray IP, Froguel P, et al. Free fatty acids and insulin levels - relationship to leptin levels and body composition in various patient groups from South Africa. International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders 1999; 23(9): 909-17.
67. van der Merwe MT, Schlaphoff GP, Crowther NJ, Boyd IH, Gray IP, Joffe BI, et al. Lactate and glycerol release from adipose tissue in lean, obese, and diabetic women from South Africa. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 2001; 86(7): 3296-303.
68. Punyadeera C, van der Merwe MT, Crowther NJ, Toman M, Schlaphoff GP, Gray IP. Ethnic differences in lipid metabolism in two groups of obese South African women. Journal of Lipid Research 2001; 42(5): 760-7.
69. Punyadeera C, van der Merwe MT, Crowther NJ, Toman M, Immelman AR, Schlaphoff GP, et al. Weight-related differences in glucose metabolism and free fatty acid production in two South African population groups. International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders 2001; 25(8): 1196-205.
70. Punyadeera C, Crowther NJ, van der Merwe MT, Toman M, Immelman AR, Schlaphoff GP, et al. Metabolic response to a mixed meal in obese and lean women from two South African populations. Obesity Research 2002; 10(12): 1207-16.
71. van der Merwe MT, Wing JR, Celgow LH, Gray IP, Lonn L, Joffe BI, Lonnroth PN. Metabolic indices in relation to body composition changes during weight loss on Dexfenfluramine in obese women from two South African ethnic groups. International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders 1996; 20(8): 768-76.
72. Joffe BI, Panz VR, Wing JR, Raal FJ, Seftel HC. Pathogenesis of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus in the black population of southern Africa. Lancet 1992; 340(8817): 460-2.
73. Kumanyika S, Jeffery RW, Morabia A, Ritenbaugh C, Antipatis VJ. Obesity prevention: the case for action. International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders 2002; 26(3): 425-36.
74. Thomas PR, ed. Weighing the Options: Criteria for Evaluating Weight-Management Programs. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1995.
75. Senekal M, Albertse EC, Momberg DJ, Groenewald CJ, Visser EM. A multidimensional weight-management program for women. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 1999; 99(10): 1257-64.
76. Wylie-Rosett J, Swencionis C, Ginsberg M, Cimino C, Wassertheil-Smoller S, Caban A, et al. Computerized weight loss intervention optimizes staff time: the clinical and cost results of a controlled clinical trail conducted in a managed care setting. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 2001; 101(10): 1155-62.
77. Department of Health. South African Guidelines for Healthy Eating for Adults and Children Over the Age of Seven. Pretoria: Department of Health, Directorate: Nutrition, 2004.
78. Southern African Society for the Study of Obesity (SASSO). Guidelines for the Prevention and Management of Overweight and Obesity in South Africa. Johannesburg: SASSO, 2003.
79. National Institutes of Health (NIH). The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute expert panel on the identification, evaluation, and treatment of overweight and obesity in adults. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 1998; 98: 1178-91.
80. van Baak M, Saris WHM. Exercise and obesity. In: Kopelman PG, Stock MJ, eds. Clinical Obesity. London: Blackwell Science, 1988; 429-68.
81. Lean M. Clinical Handbook of Weight Management. London: Dunitz, 1988.
82. Van Gaal LF, Mertens IL, de Leeuw I. Recent and future drugs for the treatment of obesity. In: Björntorp P, ed. International Textbook of Obesity. Chichester: Wiley & Sons Ltd, 2001; 451-69.
83. Hansen D, Astrup A, Toubro S, Finer N, Kopelman P, Hilsted J, et al. Predictors of weight loss and maintenance during 2 years of treatment by sibutramine in obesity. Results from the European multi-centre STORM trial. International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders 2001; 25(4): 496-501.
84. Muls E, Kolanowski J, Scheen A, Van Gaal L. The effects of orlistat on weight and on serum lipids in obese patients with hypercholesterolemia: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre study. International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders 2001; 25(1): 1713-21.
85. Van Gaal LF, Rissanen AM, Scheen AJ, Ziegler O, Rossner S. Effects of the cannabinoid-1 receptor blocker rimonobant on weight reduction and cardiovascular risk factors in overweight patients: 1-year experience from the RIO-Europe study. Lancet 2005; 365(9468): 1389-97.
86. Sjostrom CD, Lissner L, Wedel H, Sjostrom L. Reduction in incidence of diabetes, hypertension and lipid disturbances after intentional weight loss induced by bariatric surgery: the SOS Intervention Study. Obesity Research 1999; 7(5): 477-84.
87. Kaput J, Rodriguez RL. Nutritional genomics: the next frontier in the postgenomic era. Physiological Genomics 2004; 16(2): 166-77.
88. Patterson RE, Eaton DL, Potter JD. The genetic revolution: change and challenge for the dietetics profession. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 1999; 99(11): 1412-20.