Lifestyle risk factors in an urban South African community

Abstract

The research question addressed in the study was to determine the prevalence of the following lifestyle risk factors: obesity, waist-hip ratio, physical inactivity, high blood glucose, and hypertension in an urban community. The research objective for the study was to determine the prevalence of specific risk factors in an urban community. Based on the results, a health intervention could be planned and implemented to reduce the prevalence of the risk factors and the possibility of chronic noncommunicable diseases in later life. The design was a quantitative survey using physical measurement and a structured questionnaire. The target population of the study was black urban adults (n=218). The sampling method was convenient and purposive. The results of the study indicated that the prevalence of hypertension and obesity were higher than the national prevalence for South Africa. The waist-hip ratio revealed that 20% of the men and 49.7% of the women were at risk for cardiovascular disease. High blood glucose levels were demonstrated for 21.6% of the group. Physical activity was also shown to be inadequate. In conclusion, the potential for cardiovascular and metabolic health problems in future is high. It is recommended that an intervention, based on the results of the study, should and must be developed and implemented. The more challenging question is to know what to do and how to do it. A framework is suggested to guide the development of an intervention.