By Christian Mazimpaka NUR/RWANDA/FACULTY OF MEDICINE

1. OBESITY IN RWANDA
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2. Case presentation
 Sara ,32 years old Rwandan female
 Divorced with 2 children
 Works as a general secretary in a district
hospital

3. Measurements
 Height:1,72 meters
 Weight:110kgs
 BMI:37
 Initial BP:146/94

4. Laboratory
 Glucose: 130mg/dl(fasting)
 LDL:130
 HDL:36
 TG:198
 Total cholesterol:149

5. Clinical course
 Physician educated her about basic
nutrition, exercise tips and diabetes
 Patient motivated to decrease weight when
she understood that all of her medical
problems could possible be resolved by
weight loss.

6. Monthly summary progress
Month weight BP Notes
1 110 146/94
2 100 138/90 Feeling
motivated,
taking stairs at
work, feels
healthier and
report having
more energy
3 91 125/80 Patient
continues to be
motivated, do
well
4 85 128/80 Patients blood
sugar improving.

7. DISCUSSION

8. OBESITY

9. Obesity is defined as excess of adipose tissue that imparts
Health risk ,It means too much of body fat.

10. BMI
Most widely used method to evaluate obesity is BMI.
Which is equal to weight in kg by height in square
meter i.e., wt/(ht)2.
For a healthy individual BMI value ranges from 18-
25.

11. BMI Classification
 Normal 18.5 - 24.9
 Overweight 25.0 - 29.9
 Obesity
 I 30.0 - 34.9
 II 35.0 - 39.9
 III > 40.0

12. Global Health burden of obesity
 The latest WHO projections indicate that at
least one in three of the world's adult
population is overweight and almost one in
10 is obese. Additionally there are over 20
million children under age five who are
overweight.

13. Global Health burden of obesity
 Overweight and obesity are important
clinical and public health burdens
worldwide.
 WHO recommends that national programs
for prevention and treatment of overweight,
obesity and related comorbidities and
mortalities should be a public health priority

14. What are Health consequences of
Obesity?

15. Obesity Virtually Guarantees Bad
Health
Diseases Tied to Obesity
 Hypertension  Some cancers
 Type 2 diabetes  Osteoarthritis
 High lipids  Stroke
 Cardiovascular disease  Respiratory disease
 Gallbladder disease etc..

16. The good news is that overweight and obesity
are largely preventable.
What Are the secrets?

17. Regular Physical Activity is the key.
 Improves maintenance of
weight loss
 Improves cardiovascular
and other health risks

18.  When one walks on the streets of Kigali,
you see an increased number of obese
people. The thought that first comes to your
mind is “These people should start
exercising.” But then, after seeing people
exercise and stay the same, the question
comes whether exercise alone really helps
in losing the extra and unwanted kilos.

19. Exercises alone do not help much.
35
Men
30
Loss of Fat-Free Mass
(% Total Weight Loss)
Women
25
20
15
10
5
0
Exercises Exercises plus Diet

20.  To be clear!
Regular physical activity is
very good to keep healthy.
But when it comes to weight
loss, exercise alone won’t
help. It will be effective if
coupled with a sensible diet.

21. What is the situation in our
country?
 A survey done in Rwanda and published in
2005 by the WHO showed that among
women 15 to 49 years old who had given
birth, 12.5% were overweight (with a body
mass index of 25kg/m2 and be-yond), with
1.3% being obese (with a body mass index
of 30kg/m2 and beyond).

22. Survey Year(s): 2000.
Survey Population: national, both urban and rural women who have
given birth from 2000 to 2005

23. Growing tendency of obesity in
Rwanda
Many people especially in Africa are found
of being fat.
In Rwanda, fatness is associated with
financial ability and as it is a country which
is rapidly developing ,obesity tend also to
increase.
However, being obese is a risk to health!

24. Causes of obesity in Rwanda
 Increase of beverages and food from
industries in public service venues
 Fear of loosing weight
 Insufficient physical education in school
 Genetic factors
 Lack of education

25. Challenges and barriers faced in Rwanda
regarding obesity
 Lifestyle changes
 Cultural behaviours
 Poverty
 Urbanization

26. What measures can the governement take to
reduce obesity?
1 The government Should Increase and improve
Availability of Healthier Food in Public Service Venues.
The government Should Increase Opportunities for
2
Extracurricular Physical Activity.
The government Should Increase Physical
3 Education in Schools.

27. Our Responsibility
 Educate ourselves on
available options for
obese clients.
 Make sure patients
are aware of the risks
involved.

28. What can our community and individuals
do to reduce obesity?
Discourage consumption of sugar
1 sweetened beverages
Increase support for breast feeding
2
Participate in community coalitions or partnership to
3 address obesity
4 Enhance walking for short distance

29. Summary
 Obesity in itself is preventable but it cannot be
managed solely at the individual
level.Communities,governments and medical
proffessionals need to work together to modify the
environment so that it is less conductive to weight
gain.

30. Remember!
Exercises Healthier diet

31. References
 http://www.who.int/topics/obesity/en/
 http://health.einnews.com/news/rwanda-dieting-obesity-weight-co
 http://www.globalhealthfacts.org/data/topic/map.aspx?ind=50
 http://ubuzimabwacu.com/tag/rwanda-obesity/
 www.afro.who.int/index.php?option
 country-bmi.findthedata.org/d/g/

32. THANK YOU VERY MUCH!
MURAKOZE CANE!

33. QUESTIONS?
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