Study of the Body Mass Index and Waist to Hip Ratio of the Ogoni and Ikwerre adults in Nigeria.

The Body Mass Index (BMI) is an important anthropometric tool used in the determination of how much of the body is composed of fat. The BMI determines the caloric nutritional status of an individual by the consideration of the result of its ratio of weight in kilogram to the square of the height of in metres. The determination of the differences in nutritional status that exist between the Ogonis and Ikwerres using their body mass indices and Waist to Hip Ratio is the purpose of this research so as to inform us on the classification of the ethnic groups whether they are underweight, overweight, normal and/or obese. A sample size of 1000 was used for this study, 500 from each tribe. The sample collection was randomly selected from villages in Ogoni and Ikwerre respectively, all in Rivers State. The results obtained showed that the average mean value of BMI is 25.14 kg/m 2 for Ogoni females, 23.81 kg/m 2 for Ogoni males, 23.29 kg/m 2 for Ikwerre females and 21.51 kg/m 2 for Ikwerre males. Similarly, the average mean values of Waist to Hip Ratio (WHR) obtained showed 1.19 for Ogoni females, 0.88 for Ogoni males, 0.83 for Ikwerre males. The study also showed that amongst the males, 6% were underweight, 27.6% were overweight, 58.4% were normal and 6.8% considered obese while amongst the Ogoni females, 8% were underweight, 29.6% overweight, 45.6% were normal and 15.6% were obese. The results obtained from the male Ikwerre population indicated that 3.2% were underweight, 11.2% were overweight, 88.4% were normal and no case of obesity in this group category while the results obtained from the Ikwerre females showed 4.8% underweight, 13.2% overweight, 76.4% normal and 2.8% obese. There is therefore a clear indication from the result and data obtained that the Ogoni population show a greater percentage of obesity than the Ikwerres. This is important in the analysis and possible health remedy recommendation.