Beyond the chalkboard: overnutrition and cardiometabolic health among high school teachers in a semi−urban community in Southwestern Nigeria

BACKGROUND: Cardiometabolic diseases are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally. While previous studies have largely focused on in-school adolescents as regards overnutrition and cardiometabolic risk, limited attention has been given to school teachers in Nigeria. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of overnutrition and its association with cardiometabolic risk among high school teachers in Ile-Ife, Southwestern Nigeria. METHOD: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted among high school teachers in Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria. Using multistage sampling technique, 252 teachers were recruited from 20 secondary schools. Data were collected using a pre-tested structured questionnaire followed by anthropometric and clinical measurements. According to this study, cardiometabolic risk was operationally defined as presence of at least one of the two parameters: elevated blood pressure (≥ 140/90 mmHg) and elevated blood sugar (≥ 7.8 mmol/L) in each respondent. Data were analyzed with IBM SPSS version 26 with significance set at p < 0.05. RESULTS: The mean age of participants was 41.9 ± 9.8 years, with 57.9% aged ≥ 40 years. Overall, 54% had overnutrition (30.2% were overweight and 23.8% obese). Elevated blood pressure and elevated blood glucose were found in 17.1% and 5.6% of participants respectively. Cardiometabolic risk was observed in 21% of the teachers. Multivariate logistic regression identified overnutrition (overweight/obesity) as the significant predictor, with overweight teachers being 3.5 times more likely to have cardiometabolic risk (AOR = 3.5, 95% CI:1.47-8.51, p = 0.005) while obese teachers had 7.7 times higher odds of having cardiometabolic risk (AOR = 7.7, 95% CI: 2.83-20.94, p < 0.001) compared to teachers with underweight/normal weight. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that about 1 in 5 high school teachers had cardiometabolic risk, with overnutrition emerging as the significant predictor. Hence, addressing overnutrition among the school teachers may contribute to improved cardiometabolic health and should be considered in prevention programs.