AKENTEN APPIAH-MENKA UNIVERSITY OF SKILLS TRAINING AND ENTREPRENEURIAL DEVELOPMENT COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY TITLE PREVALENCE OF HYPERTENSION AND OBESITY AMONG STUDENT IN THE AKENTEN APPIAH-MENKA UNIVERSITY OF SKILL TRAINING AND ENTREPRENEURIAL DEVELOPMENT NAME AFUTU LUCY INDEX NUMBER 517184 1 INTRODUCTION Background of the study Non-communicable disease is currently the first cause of mortality globally, including the developing countries (Sirikyi et al., 2021). Adult and Adolescent hypertension and obesity have increasingly become a public health concern globally. Obesity is characterized by an increase in body weight and fat. According to WHO (2020), obesity refers to a body mass index (BMI) equal to or more than the 95th percentile for sex and age. Similarly, a value from 85th to 95th percentile is termed overweight while normal BMI ranges from 5th to the 85th percentile. Any individual with BMI for sex and age less than 5th percentile is classified as underweight. Excess consumption of calories over expended calories is the fundamental cause of overweight and obesity. Worldwide, increased high-fat diet consumption and reduced physical activity from sedentary lifestyles are major factors contributing to the increasing burden of obesity (WHO, 2021). In both developed and developing nations, there is currently an epidemic of obesity among all ages (Ofori-Asenso et al., 2016). Obesity, once thought to be a problem of developed countries, is currently on a steady increase particularly in urban settings in lower income countries (Tuoyire et al., 2016). The most crucial stage for the development of obesity occurs during childhood and adolescence due to changes in body fat composition. Therefore, if obesity develops during the childhood or adolescence stage, there is an elevated risk of obesity persisting into adulthood with its attending complications (Abubakar et al., 2021). From age six years, about 50% of obese children grow to become obese adults. In contrast, only a tenth of non-obese children develop obesity as adults (Ganle et al., 2019). 2 Hypertension measurements from the 90th to 95th percentile or equal to or more than 120/80 mmHg is classified as prehypertension. Systolic and/or diastolic blood pressure below the 90th percentile for height, age and sex is normal. Physical inactivity, obesity and overweight, together with elevated blood glucose, tobacco use and hypertension are leading global risks for mortality. These factors result in a heightened risk of CVD, malignancies and other chronic conditions worldwide (Christian et al., 2022). As a major CVD risk, it is crucial that adolescent hypertension is detected early to help control the burden of CVD in adulthood (Ofori-Asenso et al., 2016). Ghana, like many other developing countries, is going through an epidemiologic and nutritional transition. This is a consequence of globalization and westernization of our diets, and improved socio-economic conditions with a gradual shift from the prevalence of predominantly communicable diseases to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) with the associated prevalence of obesity and obesity-related illnesses (Commodore-Mensah et al., 2014). Non-communicable diseases like CVD and diabetes tend to occur earlier for overweight or obese adult. Fortunately, overweight or obesity is preventable to a large extent. Therefore, there is the need to highly prioritize prevention of obesity in childhood and adult. Early diagnosis and control of adolescent obesity and hypertension will significantly improve the long-term outcomes of cardiovascular diseases (Tuoyire et al., 2016). Problem Statement Worldwide, obesity is the most frequent cause of preventable morbidity and mortality. Obesity is linked with more mortalities than underweight and more than half the world's population are at risk (Sirikyi et al., 2021). Generally, as body fat increases there is an 3 increased risk of metabolic conditions like dyslipidemias, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus (WHO, 2016). Metabolic syndrome is associated with CVD, which is the topmost cause of deaths worldwide (Liu et al., 2013), and therefore is of major concern. Increasing prevalence of obesity and hypertension is a major concern for developing countries, particularly because their obesity persists into adult life with its numerous comorbidities and affects economic growth and productivity negatively. Therefore, it is important to ascertain the prevalence of hypertension and obesity among student in Akenten Appiah-Menka university of skill training and entrepreneurial development, Mampong compus. Justification Ghana, like many other developing countries, is going through an epidemiologic and nutritional transition. This is characterized by globalization and westernization of our diets and improved socio-economic conditions with a gradual shift from communicable diseases to non-communicable diseases and a rising prevalence of obesity and obesity-related conditions (Asosega et al., 2021; Tuoyire, 2018). In present era, overweight and obesity are considered as an escalating pandemic. The measurement of BMI is considered as a representative of obesity and it is one of the recognized predisposing reason of CVD. In previous study, about 49% university students did not have normal BMI (30% were overweight, 11% were moderately obese and 8% severely obese) in the university of Ghana (Sirikyi et al., 2021). There were gaps between the previous study because, it only focus on student in the Nutrition department. Therefore, it is important to ascertain the prevalence of hypertension and obesity among all student in Akenten Appiah-Menka university of skill training and entrepreneurial development, Mampong compus. 4 General Objectives To determine the prevalence of obesity and its relationship with blood pressure among student in Akenten Appiah-Menka university of skill training and entrepreneurial development, Mampong compus. Specific Objectives 1. To determine the prevalence of obesity among student in among student in Akenten Appiah- Menka university of skill training and entrepreneurial development, Mampong compus. 2. To determine the prevalence of hypertension among among student in Akenten Appiah- Menka university of skill training and entrepreneurial development, Mampong compus. Research questions 1. What is the prevalence of obesity among student in among student in Akenten Appiah-Menka university of skill training and entrepreneurial development, Mampong compus? 2. What is the prevalence of hypertension among among student in Akenten Appiah-Menka university of skill training and entrepreneurial development, Mampong compus? 5 METHODS AND MATERIAL Study design This was a school-based quantitative cross-sectional study conducted among student of different department at the Akenten-Appiah Menka university of skills training and entrepreneurial development. Study population and sample size The population of the sample comprise of all student in different department at the Akenten-Appiah Menka university of skills training and entrepreneurial development. Therefore, the sample size will be estimated by using Cochran’s formula (N= deff z2 pq /d2) Body weight and Systolic and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) measurement Only participants who consented after a detailed explanation of the study protocol were included in the study. Interviews using self-administered questionnaires were conducted to obtain demographic and clinical data on students. To ensure that the questionnaires were answered independently, the students will be supervised. Body weight will be measured with an electronic scale. Height will be measured with a wall-mounted stadiometer to the nearest 0.1 cm. The weight and height will be measured twice by two different pairs of Researchers and the average value will be used. The students will be weigh bare-footed and in light clothing with their pockets emptied and before each weighing, the digital weighing scale will be checked to make sure the reading is at zero kg. BMI will be calculated as weight divided by height squared. Based on the value of the BMI for age, sex, and height, subjects were classified, using the WHO growth reference chart (WHO, 2017), as obese, overweight, 6 normal or underweight. Obesity and overweight defined as ≥ 95th and 85th to < 95th percentiles respectively. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) was measured with participants sitting using a well calibrated electronic sphygmomanometer. These will be measured twice by two different pairs of research assistants at least 10 minutes apart, and the average value will be used. 7 References Abubakar, M., Uthman, Y., & Ibrahim, K. (2021). Prevalence of overweight and obesity among health-care workers in Ghana: A systematic review. Nigerian Journal of Experimental and Clinical Biosciences, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.4103/njecp.njecp_39_20 Asosega, K. A., Adebanji, A. O., & Abdul, I. W. (2021). Spatial analysis of the prevalence of obesity and overweight among women in Ghana. 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