Eighty-two percent of global CVD deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, with equal numbers of men and women affected⁽¹⁾. The increase in CVD is related to the changing diet and lifestyles of people in developing regions leading to increased overweight, obesity and other chronic diseases. Zimbabwe is a low-income country in sub-Saharan Africa undergoing nutrition transition. Consequently, the prevalence of overweight, obesity and CVD is increasing rapidly. One hundred and sixty-three (163) rural and 69 urban Zimbabweans participated in the study. The subject characteristics including BMI, waist circumference (WC) and percent body fat (%BF) are shown as mean (sd) in the table below.

The results show that there were no mean values indicating underweight, i.e. (BMI<18.5 kg/m²) in any of the populations measured. Urban men and women from a low-density suburb of Harare were overweight; moreover, these urban women had a waist circumference indicating an increased risk of CVD (i.e. WC>80 cm). Overweight and obesity are increasing rapidly in all regions of the world, including low-income countries where underweight originally posed a significant threat. This study supports this trend, but to date in Zimbabwe is restricted to regions of comparative wealth.