Endocrine Abstracts

Objectives: To determine the mean and normative values of anthropometry among the inhabitants of a coastal Nigerian city.

Methods: A cross sectional survey comprising 1134 subjects (645 males and 489 females) representative of the entire population of Calabar metropolis aged 15–79 was studied. A multistage sampling method was applied to select the subjects. Using a modification of WHO STEPS instrument the information obtained included anthropometric indices. Anthropometric indices were expressed as mean (S.D.). The comparison of means between groups was done using independent student t-test. The normative values of indices of nutriture were determined using CI, and the level of significance was taken as P<0.05.

Results: The mean (95% CI) values of BMI for males and females were 27.0 kg/m² (95% CI 26.5–27.2) and 28.5 kg/m² (95% CI 28.0–29.0) respectively. The mean (95% CI) value of waist circumference (WC) for males was 91.0 cm (95% CI 90.2–91.8), of females was 89.8 cm (95% CI 88.8–90.8). The mean (95% CI) values of waist hip ratio (WHR) for males was 0.90 (95% CI 0.88–0.89) while that of females was 0.85 (95% CI 0.87–0.89). The mean (95% CI) values of height for males was 1.70 m (1.70–1.72) and for females was 1.60 m (1.64–1.65), P<0.01. The mean (95% CI) values of hip circumference (HC) for males was 101.1 cm (101.5–103.3) and for females was 105.6 cm (102.8–104.4), P<0.01.

Conclusion: The mean values of anthropometry in the study population are different from those from other parts of Nigeria and other parts of the world.