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Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes in Sub-Sahara Africa

  • Obesity (J McCaffery, Section Editor)
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Abstract

There is a mounting body of evidence regarding the challenge posed by diabetes and obesity on the health systems of many Sub-Sahara African countries. This trend has been linked to the changing demographic profile together with rapid urbanization and changing lifestyles in both rural and urban settings in Africa. Africa is expected to witness the greatest increase in the number of people with diabetes from 19.8 million in 2013 to 41.4 million in 2035 if current trends persist. Excess weight alone currently accounts for at least 2.8 million deaths globally each year through increased risk for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular complications. This review highlights recent literature on the problem of obesity and type 2 diabetes in Sub-Sahara Africa. It exposes the need for concrete interventions based on the now available wealth of evidence.

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Acknowledgments

Jean Claude Mbanya reports grants from the World Diabetes Federation. Felix K. Assah reports grants from Wellcome Trust.

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Conflict of Interest

Jean Claude Mbanya, Emmanuella N. Atanga, and Jude Saji declare that they have no conflict of interest. Felix K. Assah reports personal fees from the government of Cameroon.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and Laboratory for Molecular Medicine and Metabolism, The Biotechnology Center, University of Yaoundé 1, Yaoundé, Cameroon

    Jean Claude Mbanya

  2. Health of Population in Transition Medical Research Group, P.O. Box 8046, Yaoundé, Cameroon

    Jean Claude Mbanya, Felix K. Assah, Jude Saji & Emmanuella N. Atanga

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  1. Jean Claude Mbanya
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  2. Felix K. Assah
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Correspondence to Jean Claude Mbanya.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Obesity

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Mbanya, J.C., Assah, F.K., Saji, J. et al. Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes in Sub-Sahara Africa. Curr Diab Rep 14, 501 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11892-014-0501-5

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