The Anthropometric Study on the Effect of Social Scale on Adiposity and Blood Pressure of Married Igbo Women in Nigeria

Abstract

This study examined the effect of social scale on the adiposity and blood pressure (BP) of married Igbo women (n=92) aged 18 to 78 years. Educational level of husband or self-level of education was used as a sole criterion for classifying the subjects into upwardly mobile women and downwardly mobile women. Upwardly mobile women had tertiary education or married to husbands with tertiary education. Downwardly mobile women possessed primary and secondary education or married to husbands with low level of education. Adiposity indices and BP measurements were taken following standard protocols. The body mass index (BMI, kg/m²), triceps, subscapular, calf skinfold and sum 3 skinfolds were used as indicators of fatness. The waist, hip, mid-thigh, mid-arm, mid-forearm, waist-hip ratio and waist thigh ratio were used as indicators of fat distribution. Upwardly mobile women by husbands level of education were significantly overweight (P=0.03, F=4.80), taller, younger and possessed higher weight (P<0.001) respectively; forearm circumference and subscapular skinfold were significantly higher too (P=0.03, F=4.93; P = 0.05, F=4.06). The downwardly mobile women had significantly elevated systolic BP (P<0.001, F=30.95) and slightly high values for WHR and WTR. Upwardly mobile women by self level of education had significant values for weight and BMI while the downwardly mobile women indicated significant values for age (P<0.001), systolic BP (P<0.001) and diastolic BP (P=0.04, F=4.59). Our findings contradict the result from the western world whereby the upwardly mobile women have normal BMI. Moving down the social scale is predictive of elevated BP while moving up is predict of excess adiposity and reduced BP.