Skip to main content
. 2012 Sep 25;12:823. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-12-823

Table 2.

Mean body mass index, percent body fat and waist circumference of women (n = 365) by selected socio-demographic characteristics

  Mean BMI (SD) Mean% body fat (SD) Mean WC (SD)
Mean
27.9 (5.3)
39.5 (7.6)
86.9 (13.5)
Age (years)
P <0.001c
P <0.001 c
P <0.001 c
25-29
25.6 (5.0)
35.7 (6.6)
80.7 (11.2
30-34
28.1 (4.4)
39.3 (6.3)
86.0 (11.0)
35-39
28.7 (4.6)
40.8 (6.7)
87.7 (8.7)
40-44
28.9 (5.5)
41.7 (7.5)
90.1 (9.1)
45-49
28.8 (6.5)
41.2 (7.8)
90.9 (18.4)
50-54
31.8 (4.7)
46.6 (7.8)
99.5 (14.6)
Socio-economic group
P = 0.005b
P = 0.021a
P = 0.083
Lower
26.4 (5.2)
37.6 (6.8)
86.1 (12.2)
Upper-lower
27.6 (4.8)
39.2(7.9)
85.9 (12.2)
Middle
27.7 (4.9)
39.3(7.8)
84.5 (11.8)
Lower-upper
29.5 (%.3)
41.1(7.1)
90.3 (14.7)
Upper
29.1 (6.3)
42.1 (8.3)
88.8 (17.7)
Marital status
P = 0.01a
P = 0.06
P <0.001 c
Single
26.1 (4.8)
37.8 (8.0)
82.4 (11.9)
Married
28.3 (5.4)
39.9 (7.1)
87.6 (13.2)
Divorced/separated
30.1 (4.8)
42.5 (8.9)
93.0 (16.2)
Widowed
29.5 (4.7)
41.1 (8.5)
93.0 (14.3)
Parity
P <0.001 c
P <0.001 c
P <0.001 c
0-1 child
26.4 (5.0)
37.6 (7.3)
82.5 (12.8)
2-3children
28.1 (4.6)
39.8 (6.6)
86.5 (11.5)
> = 4 children
30.0 (5.8)
42.1 (8.8)
94.3 (14.2)
Education level
P = 0.744
P = 0.764
P = 0.123
None
27.7 (5.3)
40.1 (8.9)
89.1 (15.2)
Primary
28.4 (5.4)
39.9 (7.3)
89.0 (13.1)
Secondary
27.6 (6.4)
38.7 (8.8)
85.8 (14.9)
>Secondary
27.8 (4.7)
39.5 (6.9)
85.3 (12.4)
Occupation
P = 0.366
P = 0.471
P = 0.314
Casual worker
26.9 (6.3)
37.4 (7.9)
86.6 (15.7)
Self employed
28.7 (5.3)
40.3 (7.5)
89.2 (13.5)
Formal sector
27.7 (4.8)
39.4 (6.9)
85.5 (12.3)
Housewife
27.6 (5.5)
39.7 (8.4)
86.1 (13.7)
Other
26.9(6.0)
38.0 (10.1)
86.0 (17.3)
Number rooms
P <0.001 c
P <.0.001 c
P <0.001 c
1-2
26.8 (5.4)
37.6 (7.0)
84.9 (12.4)
3-4
27.8 (4.6)
40.0 (7.0)
85.4 (11.5)
5-6
30.3 (5.4)
42.7 (7.6)
92.6 (15.4)
> = 7
28.9 (5.2)
40.9 (8.5)
90.7 (16.2)
Expenditure (Ksh)
P <0.001 c
P <0.001 c
P = 0.014a
<10 000
26.2 (5.1)
37.2 (7.7)
83.8 (12.7)
10 001–20 000
28.1 (5.3)
39.8 (7.2)
86.8 (12.5)
20 001–30 000
28.9 (4.8)
41.4 (7.5)
88.8 (12.4)
30 001–40 000
29.4 (5.6)
40.4 (8.1)
91.7 (16.7)
> = 40 000 29.7 (4.9) 42.3 (6.7) 89.4 (14.7)

BMI = body mass index; WC = waist circumference; SD = standard deviation; Ksh = Kenyan shillings.

a Significant differences at p <0.05; b Significant differences at p <0.01; c Significant differences at p <0.001.