Physical activity, illness and nutritional status among adults in a rural Ethiopian community.

BACKGROUND: From Africa, our knowledge on how malnutrition and diseases influence the ability to work is limited. In a one-year population-based study, we investigated the effects of nutritional status, illness and socioeconomic factors on the activity pattern in a rural population in southern Ethiopia.
METHODS: From July 1991 to June 1992, 226 people (109 men and 117 women) from the Elka na Mataramofa village in the Rift Valley were examined every 3 months. Information on the occurrence of illness and measurement of nutritional status were collected every 3 months. At the same time we interviewed each person for seven consecutive days to assess the pattern of activities.
RESULTS: Men and women had a mean estimated energy expenditure (SD) of 2937 kcal (951) and 1977 (513) kcal, respectively. The mean body mass index (BMI) (SD) was 19.7 (2.3) for men and 20.0 (2.6) for women. Men showed a significant seasonal variation in estimated energy expenditure that was highest during the pre-harvest time. Women did not show such a seasonal variation. In a multivariate analysis, sex, age, state of nutrition, period prevalence and severity of diseases and seasonality influenced estimated energy expenditures.
CONCLUSIONS: Both low BMI and illness are significantly associated with low estimated energy expenditure. Most likely, this represents an example of the vicious circle of malnutrition, disease and activity that affects subsistence farming communities. Development work that improves the state of nutrition and health of the adult population may therefore enhance the work performance of rural populations.