Prevalence and associated factors of overweight, obesity, and central obesity among adults in Northern Sudan: a community-based cross-sectional study

Obesity is a significant global health issue. Despite the availability of published data on the epidemiology of overweight and obesity in African countries, relatively few studies have been conducted in Sudan, the third-largest African country. This study aims to estimate the prevalence of obesity and central obesity among adults in Northern Sudan and identify associated factors. A multistage community-based survey was conducted in River Nile State, Northern Sudan. The adult’s sociodemographic and clinical data were collected through a questionnaire. Waist circumference was measured, and body mass index (BMI) was computed from the weight and height. Multivariate multinomial and binary analyses were performed. Of 470 adults, 242 (51.5%) were males, and their median age was 45 years. Forty-four (9.4%) adults were underweight, 154 (32.8%) were normal weight, 145 (30.9%) were overweight, 127 (27.0%) were obese, and 205 (43.6%) adults had central obesity. In the multivariate multinomial analysis, being female (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 2.34, 95.0% confidence interval [CI] = 1.22–4.49) and married (AOR = 2.18, 95.0% CI = 1.20–3.96) were associated with obesity. In multivariate binary analysis, increasing age (AOR = 1.04, 95.0% CI = 1.02–1.05) and female sex (AOR = 7.09, 95.0% CI = 3.90 − 12.91) were associated with central obesity. This study showed that obesity is a health problem in this region of Sudan, especially among females and adults with increasing age.