Body Circumferential Anthropometric Features of Ijaws of Southern Nigeria

Aim: The aim of the study was to investigate the circumferential anthropometric body characteristics of adult male Ijaws of southern Nigeria.

Methodology: The research design was a non-experimental, cross-sectional design. It made use of a total number of four hundred (400) subjects whose ages ranged between 21 to 40 years with BMI of 18.50 to <30.00. Individuals whose BMI fell within the category of overweight according to conventional BMI classification were included in the study because they looked apparently healthier than those with BMI classified as normal. Minimum sample size was determined using the Taro Yamane’s formula. Circumferential body anthropometric measurements and BMI were taken using stadiometer, digital calipers, calibrated flexible meter tape and weighting scale. Statistical analysis was done using statistical package for the social science (SPSS version 25.0) and Microsoft Excel 2019. Continuous variables were presented as mean±SD; minimum and maximum. Age was categorized into two groups (21 – 30 and 31 – 40) years while Body Mass Index (BMI) was also categorized into two; normal weight (18.5 – 24.9) and slightly overweight (25.0 – 30.7). Independent sample t-test was therefore carried out to determine significant difference in the measured anthropometric parameters according to age. The confidence interval was set at 95%, therefore p< 0.05 was considered significant.

Results: Results were presented in tables. Age and BMI were had no impact on the studied anthropometric parameters as there were no statistically significant difference seen when compared across age and BMI groups. On comparison with other racial populations, racial variation was observed.

Conclusion: Circumferential anthropometric studies are mainly used to demonstrate health status, growth rate and other population demography. This study catalogued anthropometric description of body circumference of the Ijaw ethnic group. These anthropometric values will be useful in medical studies and forensics.