Introduction: The prevalence of obesity in South Africa and throughout the world is increasing. Obesity is related to hypertension, atherosclerosis, diabetes, dyslipidemia and other sub-clinical conditions. Aim: To establish the prevalence of obesity and related risk factors among nurses in a public health hospital in KwaZulu-Natal. Methods: The design entailed a cross-sectional survey among 250 randomly selected nurses (22-64 years) working in King Edward Hospital (KZN). Obesity was measured using anthropometric and derived parameters of stature, body mass, body mass index (BMI) and waist to hip ratios (WHR). Related risks were determined using a screening questionnaire. Results: The mean body mass and BMI observed was 84.42 ± 17.49 kg and 32.60± 6.34 kg/m2, respectively with 76.10% of the sample being overweight or obese (64.80%; BMI~30). The mean waist circumference (93.01±12.73 cm) fell into the high risk category. A large proportion (30.4%) reported experiencing lower back pain. A significant crude odds ratio (OR) was found between obesity and the risk for lower back pain with an OR of 2.53 (CI 1.12 - 5.71). An increased but insignificant risk was observed in obese individuals for hypertension (OR 1.85: CI 0.63 - 5.40). Stressed individuals (PSS> 13) had an increased but insignificant risk for obesity (OR 1.78: CI 0.70 - 4.50) but a significantly increased risk for lower back pain (OR 8.59: CI 2.00-36.85; p:S0.05). Only 79 of the 250 nurses (31.6%) from our sample reported doing vigorous exercises on a regular basis and the nature of their exercise programs did not protect against the risk of obesity (OR 2.18: CI 1.03-4.60; p:S0.05). Discussion and Conclusion: A high prevalence of obesity and related risk factors among this population of nurses in a public hospital, and potentially in the nursing occupation at large, should be addressed within the context of employee wellbeing. The need for education on appropriate diet and exercise programming in order to prevent hypokinesis and associated diseases of lifestyle is evident. Key words: Nurses, Body Mass Index, Obesity, Low Back Pain, Hypertension, Stress, Hypokinesis / Thesis (M.Sport Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2010.

Research suggests that the eating disorders (anorexia nervosa and bulimia) represent a caricature of the sociocultural values placed on young women to achieve thinness and beauty ideals. Although eating disorders have long been thought to occur only in White, "Western" cultures, more recent research suggests that women from different cultural groups are presenting with unhealthy eating attitudes and behaviours. In South Africa's pluralistic cultural context, the effects ofcontinuous first-hand contact between cultures (acculturation) is an important area of research, especially in light ofthe hypothesised etiological role ofsociocultural factors in eating disorders. The present study aims to address the association between acculturation and disordered eating in a non-clinical sample of nursing students in Pietermaritzburg. Additionally, it aims to contribute to the development of a local acculturation instrument. The South African Acculturation Scale (SAAS) was developed based on the work of Berry (1976), Berry, Trimble and Olmedo (1986) and Berry (1997). The Individualism-Collectivism (INDCOL) scale (Hui, 1988) and the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI, Garner & Olmsted, 1984) were included in the questionnaire profile A pilot study was undertaken on 28 students in the health arena, in order to assess the psychometric properties of the assessment instruments. The results of the pilot study yielded adequate reliability co-efficients for the SAAS, although the INDCOL scale yielded unexpectedly inconsistent results. The formal study adopted a cross-sectional design on a population of 155 nursing students. The sample consisted of37 Blacks, 33 Whites, 11 Indians and 7 Coloureds between 19 and 28 years of age. Additionally, the sample included 49 Blacks, 3 Whites, 11 Indians and 4 Coloureds greater than, or equal to 29 years ofage. The research findings suggest that both Black and White respondents display a propensity towards disordered eating. Black respondents scored higher on measures of the psychological correlates of eating disorders, and Whites scored higher on the attitudinal and behavioural measures of disordered eating. Partial support was obtained for the hypothesis that assimilation and individualist values are correlated to eating disorder pathology. The findings suggest that acculturating young women from diverse cultural and racial backgrounds present with a degree of risk for the development of eating disorders. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc) - University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2000.

There is a paucity of South African data concerning the cross-cultural incidence of attitudes and behaviours associated with eating disorders. Research in this area has recognised that acculturation to a Western value system appears to have a pathogenic impact on the prevalence of disordered eating among non-Western ethnic groups. This study aimed to explore the relationship between acculturation and disordered eating, and to compare the level of disordered eating (as measured by the Eating Disorders Inventory [EDI]) among black and white female university students in KwaZulu-Natal. The roles of Body Mass Index (BMI) and socioeconomic status were also examined. The sample consisted of one hundred and twenty-two white female undergraduate students from the University of Natal (Pietermaritzburg), fifteen black female undergraduate students from the University of Natal (Pietermaritzburg), and one hundred and fifty-four black female undergraduate students from the University of Zululand. It was found that although black subjects obtained significantly higher scores on the Drive for Thinness subscale of the EDI, white subjects obtained significantly higher scores on a combination of the three subscales designated to assess disordered eating attitudes and behaviours. Black subjects obtained significantly higher BMI scores than white subjects, and BMI was positively correlated with Body Dissatisfaction in both groups, and with Drive for Thinness in the white group only. No relationship was found between socioeconomic status and disordered eating. Similarly, no relationship was found between acculturation and disordered eating. This latter result is partly a function of problems experienced with the measures of acculturation. A comparison of black subjects from the two universities suggests that greater contact with white students is influential in terms of the development of disordered eating. The above results are discussed in terms of the available literature, and recommendations for future research are made on the basis of the limitations of this study. The data from this study is included in a nation wide cross-cultural study of eating disorders initiated by the Eating Disorders Co-ordinating Committee. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1996.