Research

Energy balance

Rapid urbanization and the associated nutrition transition in Ghana have driven a significant increase in adult overweight and obesity prevalence, with urban residents exhibiting substantially higher rates than rural counterparts.

In Ghana, the shift to urban living has led to higher obesity rates due to less physical activity and more energy-dense foods. Public health efforts need to address these specific urban lifestyle changes and cultural perceptions of body size to be effective.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Higher prevalence of overweight (27.2% vs 16.7%) and obesity (20.6% vs 8.0%) were estimated for urban than rural dwellers... These patterns generally mimic the levels of urbanization.
Richard Ofori‐Asenso et al. · BMC Public Health · 2016

Why this rating

Meta-analysis of 43 studies with large sample size (n=48,966), though heterogeneity (I2 > 98%) is high.

Source

Overweight and obesity epidemic in Ghana—a systematic review and meta-analysis

Richard Ofori‐Asenso et al. · BMC Public Health · 2016

DOI 10.1186/s12889-016-3901-4

Meta-analysis · 43 studiesCited 256×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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