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Gender differences in dietary behaviours, health-related habits and prevalence of non-communicable diseases in Botswana

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 October 2021

Gobopamang Letamo ,
Mpho Keetile Open the ORCID record for Mpho Keetile [Opens in a new window] ,
Kannan Navaneetham  and
Keitumetse Medupe
Gobopamang Letamo
Affiliation:
Department of Population Studies, University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana
Mpho Keetile*
Affiliation:
Department of Population Studies, University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana
Kannan Navaneetham
Affiliation:
Department of Population Studies, University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana
Keitumetse Medupe
Affiliation:
Institute of Health Sciences, Gaborone, Botswana
*
*Corresponding author. Email: mphokeet@yahoo.com
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Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess gender differences in the prevalence non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and in associated health-related habits, weight status and common risk factors in Botswana. Data were from the cross-sectional, population-based Botswana STEPS Survey II conducted in 2014. A total sample of 2947 survey participants aged 25–64 years were included the study. The results showed that a statistically significant higher percentage of men used tobacco compared with women (34.4%, 95% CI: 33.5–35.1 vs 4.4%, 95% CI: 4.3–4.5). Men also had consistently and statistically significantly greater heavy alcohol consumption and lower fruit and/or vegetable consumption than women. Physical inactivity among women was higher than in men. Controlling for other factors, men had a higher probability of being overweight (28.7%, 95% CI: 28.6–28.8 vs 18.3%, 95% CI: 18.0–18.6) and obese (25.8%, 95% CI: 25.4–26.2 vs 10.2%, 95% CI: 9.9–10.5) than women. Women were at a greater risk of developing NCDs compared with men since their adjusted prevalence of having at least three common risk factors was higher than men’s. Women had a higher adjusted predicted prevalence of suffering from hypertension than men (39.4%, 95% CI: 38.9–40.0 vs 26.1%, 95% CI: 25.5–26.8). Appropriate policies and programmes need to be adopted to urgently address the problem of NCDs in Botswana.

Keywords

Gender differencesHealth-related habitsNon-communicable diseases
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 54 , Issue 6 , November 2022 , pp. 1067 - 1077
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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