Background: In Africa high prevalence of overweight and obesity was found in regions of East Africa (0.3%),
West Africa (0.7%), Central Africa (0.2%), South Africa (3.8%), and North Africa (12.5%).
Aims: This meta-analysis aimed to analyze the prevalence of obesity among young adults, aged 18-25 years
from five African countries.
Methods: The Meta-analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (MOOSE) guidelines were applied to
search published studies. of the 100 studies published as found in scientific databases from 2010 to 2017, only
five were selected. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA)
checklist was used to eliminate other studies.
Outcomes: A total of 22,320 obese young adults were analyzed to be prevalent. The obesity among adults in
SouthAfrica was found to be correlated with less physical activities. In Uganda, the prevalence of obesity is
683 which relates with their sedentary lifestyle and socio-demography. Among 371 young adults in Nigeria, the
prevalence of obesity was 5.1% among male and 10% among female related to diet and other consumptions.
Among 646 adults in Ghana, the prevalence of general obesity was observed to be related to genetics.
Conclusion: Prevalence of the male gender was 9,509 having a p=0.284 (at 95% C.I.±4,440.87845-
8,788.87845) with a mean score of 1,251, and a SD= 61,066. While the prevalence of obesity on females was
10,874 having a p= 0.00019, (at 95% C.I.±3,592.07-6,094.07) with a mean score of 2,174, and SD= 3,375.