Magnitude of central obesity and associated factors among adults working in government offices in Bedele town, Buno Bedele zone, Southwest Ethiopia

OBJECTIVE: Central obesity is an emerging public health problem globally and an independent risk factor for heart, blood vessels, and metabolic disorder. This study aimed to assess the central obesity and associated factors among adults working in government offices in Bedele town, Southwest Ethiopia, 2021. METHODS: An institutional survey was conducted among randomly selected government offices. Anthropometric measurements were carried out. Face-to-face interview using standard questionnaires were also used to collect data. A total of 403 respondents were selected from the list of public office workers employed in Bedele Town. Data were entered into Epi data 3.1 then exported to SPSS version 20 for analysis. Each variable with a p value less than 0.25 in the bivariate analysis was entered into logistic regression and p value 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. RESULTS: The response rate was 373 respondents (92.6%). The overall prevalence of central obesity among public office workers of Bedele town was 54.7%. Sitting for more than 5 h at workplace adjusted odds ratio = 2.911 (95% confidence interval = 1.644, 5.156), being a female adjusted odds ratio = 3.258 (95% confidence interval = 1.744, 6.047), age range of 40–49 (adjusted odds ratio = 4.520, 95% confidence interval = 1.798, 11.363), age ⩾ 50 years (adjusted odds ratio = 5.907, 95% confidence interval = 1.808, 19.297), being physically inactive (adjusted odds ratio = 4.594, 95% confidence interval = 2.313, 9.125), consumption of snack (adjusted odds ratio = 4.521, 95% confidence interval = 2.583, 7.913), and alcohol consumption (adjusted odds ratio = 2.324 95% confidence interval = 1.210, 4.463) were factors significantly associated with central obesity among office workers in Bedele town. CONCLUSION: The magnitude of central obesity was high among office workers in Bedele town and being female gender, older age, physical inactivity, consumption of snacks, and alcohol were associated with it. Physical exercise and a healthy lifestyle should be promoted to minimize the problem.