Nutrition Transition and Biocultural Determinants of Obesity among Cameroonian Migrants in Urban Cameroon and France

Emmanuel Cohen, Norbert Amougou, Amandine Ponty, Juliette Loinger-Beck, Téodyl Nkuintchua, Nicolas Monteillet, Jonathan Y. Bernard, Rihlat Saïd-Mohamed, Michelle Holdsworth and Patrick Pasquet
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Emmanuel Cohen: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte Internationale 3189, Environnement, Santé, Société, Faculté de Médecine-Nord, 51 bd Pierre Dramard, 13344 Marseille CEDEX 15, France
Norbert Amougou: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche 7206, Eco-Anthropologie et Ethnobiologie, Musée de l’Homme, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, 17 place du Trocadéro, 75016 Paris, France
Amandine Ponty: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche 7206, Eco-Anthropologie et Ethnobiologie, Musée de l’Homme, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, 17 place du Trocadéro, 75016 Paris, France
Juliette Loinger-Beck: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche 7206, Eco-Anthropologie et Ethnobiologie, Musée de l’Homme, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, 17 place du Trocadéro, 75016 Paris, France
Téodyl Nkuintchua: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche 7206, Eco-Anthropologie et Ethnobiologie, Musée de l’Homme, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, 17 place du Trocadéro, 75016 Paris, France
Nicolas Monteillet: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche 7206, Eco-Anthropologie et Ethnobiologie, Musée de l’Homme, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, 17 place du Trocadéro, 75016 Paris, France
Jonathan Y. Bernard: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche 7206, Eco-Anthropologie et Ethnobiologie, Musée de l’Homme, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, 17 place du Trocadéro, 75016 Paris, France
Rihlat Saïd-Mohamed: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche 7206, Eco-Anthropologie et Ethnobiologie, Musée de l’Homme, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, 17 place du Trocadéro, 75016 Paris, France
Michelle Holdsworth: School of Health and Related Research, Public Health section, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, Regent Court, 30 Regent Street, Sheffield S1 4DA, UK
Patrick Pasquet: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche 7206, Eco-Anthropologie et Ethnobiologie, Musée de l’Homme, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, 17 place du Trocadéro, 75016 Paris, France

IJERPH, 2017, vol. 14, issue 7, 1-23

Abstract: Native of rural West Cameroon, the Bamiléké population is traditionally predisposed to obesity. Bamiléké who migrated to urban areas additionally experience the nutrition transition. We investigated the biocultural determinants of obesity in Bamiléké who migrated to urban Cameroon (Yaoundé), or urban France (Paris). We conducted qualitative interviews ( n = 36; 18 men) and a quantitative survey ( n = 627; 266 men) of adults using two-stage sampling strategy, to determine the association of dietary intake, physical activity and body weight norms with obesity of Bamiléké populations in these three socio-ecological areas (rural Cameroon: n = 258; urban Cameroon: n = 319; urban France: n = 50). The Bamiléké valued overweight and traditional energy-dense diets in rural and urban Cameroon. Physical activity levels were lower, consumption of processed energy-dense food was frequent and obesity levels higher in new migrants living in urban Cameroon and France. Female sex, age, duration of residence in urban areas, lower physical activity and valorisation of overweight were independently associated with obesity status. This work argues in favour of local and global health policies that account for the origin and the migration trajectories to prevent obesity in migrants.

Keywords: nutrition transition; Cameroon; France; migrants; determinants; obesity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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