Kufre Okop

• PhD in Public Health, School of Public Health, University of the Western Cape, South Africa
• Fellow at Chronic Disease Initiative for Africa (CDIA)

Increasing evidence suggests that urban health objectives are best achieved through a multisectoral approach. This approach requires multiple sectors to consider health and well-being as a central aspect of their policy development and implementation, recognising that numerous determinants of health lie outside (or beyond the confines of) the healt...

The Human Mobility Transition model describes shifts in mobility dynamics and transport systems. The aspirational stage, ‘human urbanism’, is characterised by high active travel, universal public transport, low private vehicle use and equitable access to transport. We explored factors associated with travel behaviour in Africa and the Caribbean, in...

BACKGROUND The increasing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), which are prevalent in low and middle income countries (LMICs), is largely attributed to modifiable behavioural risk factors such as poor/unhealthy diets and insufficient physical activity (PA). The adolescent stage–recently defined as 10-24 years of age–is an important formative...

Background The increasing burden of noncommunicable diseases that are prevalent in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is largely attributed to modifiable behavioral risk factors such as unhealthy diets and insufficient physical activity (PA). The adolescent stage, defined as 10 to 24 years of age, is an important formative phase of life and o...

Background Eliminating violence against children is a prominent policy goal, codified in the Sustainable Development Goals, and parenting programs are one approach to preventing and reducing violence. However, we know relatively little about dissemination and scale-up of parenting programs, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)....

Background Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading cause of death globally. While upstream approaches to tackle NCD risk factors of poor quality diets and physical inactivity have been trialled in high income countries (HICs), there is little evidence from low and middle-income countries (LMICs) that bear a disproportionate NCD burden. Sub...

Background: In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), which experiences a disproportionately high cardiovascular disease (CVD) burden, population-based screening and prevention measures are hampered by low levels of knowledge about CVD and associated risk factors, and inaccurate perceptions of severity of risk. Methods: This protocol describes the planned proce...

Objective To identify factors associated with food purchasing decisions and expenditure of South African supermarket shoppers across income levels. Design Intercept surveys were conducted, grocery receipts collated and expenditure coded into categories, with each category calculated as percentage of the total expenditure. In-supermarket food quali...

The study’s objective was to assess the feasibility of using citizen science to identify and address physical activity (PA) barriers in a low-income South African community. We purposively selected as citizen scientists, eleven participants (21–45 years) from a cohort study who expressed interest in becoming physically active or were already active...

Background: Body image perception has an impact on modifiable cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, lifestyle and psychological health in many populations. Aim: To assess weight discordance (underestimating own weight) and body size dissatisfaction (perceiving body size as either ‘too small’ or ‘too large’) among overweight and obese South Africans, t...

Background Consumption of fruits and vegetables reduces the risk of obesity, diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular mortality and all-cause mortality. The study assessed the pattern of intake and the factors that influence daily intake of commonly available fruits and vegetables in economically disadvantaged South African communities. Methods This is a...

Objectives: This study examines the prospective association between sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) consumption and change in body weight over a 4-5-year period in a socio-economically disadvantaged South African population. Methods: This is a longitudinal study involving 800 adults (212 men, 588 women); 247 from the original METS (Modelling the...

Using intercept surveys, we explored demographic and socioeconomic factors associated with food purchasing characteristics of supermarket shoppers and the perceptions of their neighborhood food environment in urban Cape Town. Shoppers (N = 422) aged ≥18 years, categorized by their residential socioeconomic areas (SEAs), participated in a survey aft...

Introduction Maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy can result in mental and physical birth defects in individuals. These birth defects are usually described as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs). With an estimated 183–259 per 1000 children born with FASDs, South Africa is identified to have the highest prevalence of FASDs in the world...

Introduction: Increasing evidence indicates that obesity is associated with high rates of cardiovascular disease (CVD) particularly in the developing world. This study describes the patterns of total 10-year CVD mortality risk score and change in adiposity in relation to body size and weight discordance in black South African adults. Methods: This...

Background: The high rates of obesity and its associated health complications in populations undergoing rapid urbanisation and nutrition transition requires setting-specific behaviour change interventions. This study explored the effect of body image and perceived threat of obesity (PTO) on the willingness to lose weight (WTL) and weight change/yea...

Background: The obesity epidemic is associated with rising rates of cardiovascular disease (CVD) among adults, particularly in countries undergoing rapid urbanisation and nutrition transition. This study explored perceptions of body size, obesity risk awareness, and the willingness to lose weight among adults in a resource-limited urban community t...

Background and Purpose: South Africa is a middle-income country, with a GINI coefficient (0.63) suggesting marked inequalities and nearly half of all households experience food insecurity. Despite this, three out of every 4 adult women and 1 in three men are either overweight or obese, and nearly half of all adults are insufficiently active. There...

Background Severe acute malnutrition (SAM) in children under 5 years of age is a major cause of child mortality during hospital admission worldwide, and is attributed to poor case management. The Outpatient Therapeutic Programme (OTP) is an innovation for treating children with SAM with no medical complications as outpatients within their communiti...

Background: The obesity epidemic is associated with rising rates of cardiovascular disease (CVD) among adults, particularly in countries undergoing rapid urbanisation and nutrition transition. This study explored the perceptions of body size, obesity risk awareness, and the willingness to lose weight among adults in a resource-limited urban communi...

Background: High prevalence of obesity increases the risk of cardiovascular disease in the South Africa population, particularly among the Blacks. Information on the determinants of obesity among men and women in the rural and urban communities are critical for developing prevention strategy for obesity. Methods: A cross-sectional analysis of data...

Background: High prevalence of obesity increases the risk of cardiovascular disease in the South Africa population, particularly among the Blacks. Information on the determinants of obesity among men and women in the rural and urban communities are critical for developing prevention strategy for obesity. Methods: A cross-sectional analysis of data...

Objective To determine the factors associated with excessive body fat among black African men and women living in rural and urban communities of South Africa. Methods This is a cross-sectional analysis of data from the Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study, Cape Town, South Africa conducted in 2009/2010. The study sample included 1...

BACK GROUND Information on the factors associated with overweight among adults living in communities with high burden of obesity is needed for the development of community-specific obesity prevention strategies. OBJECTIVES To determine the factors associated with excessive body fat among black men and women living in the rural and urban communities...

Each year, malnutrition accounts for about 50 percent of the deaths of under-fives in developing countries. In Zambia, about 45 percent of children under the age of five exhibit stunted growth, mainly due to malnutrition. Early detection of cases by health workers and prompt health-seeking practices at household and community levels can improve the...

Background: Adhering to a healthier lifestyle following an acute coronary syndrome has been shown to reduce the risk of recurrent events, and is therefore recommended for secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, little is known about the adoption of these behaviours among individuals with coronary heart disease (CHD) or stroke...

Benin City, the headquarters of Edo State, is known to have one of the highest rates of international sex trafficking of young women in Nigeria. This study was designed to determine the knowledge, attitudes and experiences of young women in Benin City, towards international sex trafficking. A random household sample of 1456 women aged 15-25 years w...