Abstract:
Overweight and obesity are global public health problems. Although overweight
and obesity are high in urban areas, the prevalence of overweight and obesity is
increasing steadily in rural areas. However, interventions to address overweight
and obesity in rural areas are limited. This study reports on the process of
developing a facilitator guide for a nutrition education program on overweight and
obesity in rural Ghana. The transtheoretical model guided this study. The study
was conducted in three districts in the Eastern Region of Ghana. The facilitator
guide was developed according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO)
guidelines for planning community nutrition education. This study engaged nutrition
and agricultural officers working in the study area and academics through an
iterative process to draft, revise, and design the facilitator guide. The procedures
included a desk literature review, analysis of secondary data, telephone interviews,
a seminar and two workshops. The guide consists of five lessons. Lesson 1
creates an awareness of overweight and obesity by providing a definition and the
Stunkard Figure Rating Scale. It also includes data on the prevalence of
overweight and obesity and abdominal obesity of women in the study area. Lesson
2 discusses body image perceptions and their association with overweight and
obesity. Lesson 3 highlights the economic, social and health consequences of
overweight and obesity. Lesson 4 explains the four-star diet and how to achieve it.
The lesson includes a description of each star of the four-star diet with local
examples. Lesson 5 discusses physical activity and steps to increase physical
activity. Each lesson ends with a key message. Songs were developed for Lessons
3, 4 and 5. This study describes the process of developing a facilitator guide for
overweight and obesity education at the community level. The guide can be used
to raise awareness of overweight and obesity and weight management.
