JOURNAL OF CLINICAL SCIENCES, VOLUME 10, NUMBER 2, JUL Y–DECEMBER, 2013 18 Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Bankers in Lagos Island Local Government Area Regarding Healthy Lifestyle in the Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases 1 Adelowo AB, 2 Sekoni AO 1 Lagos State Health Service Commission, Onikan Health Centre, Lagos Island LGA, Lagos State, Nigeria 2 Department of Community Health & Primary Health Care, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Nigeria Corresponding Author: Dr Adekemi O Sekoni Department of Community Health & Primary Health Care, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Nigeria E mail: aosekoni@cmul.edu.ng, sekoniadekemi@yahoo.com Telephone: +2348033448474 ABSTRACT Background and Objective: Non - communicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in many developed and developing countries. Nigeria is experiencing an epidemiological transition with a double burden of communicable and non communicable diseases. This study was carried out to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of bankers in Lagos Island Local Government Area on healthy lifestyle in relation to the prevention and control of NCDs. Material and Methods: Cross sectional descriptive design was employed. Multistage sampling technique was used to collect information from 260 consenting bankers using pretested, interviewer administered questionnaires. The questionnaire collected information on biodata, knowledge, attitude and practice. Data obtained was analyzed using Epi info version 3.5.3 Results: The mean age of 260 the respondents was 33.5 ± 5.7 years. Only 26.9% had good knowledge of healthy lifestyle while 87.3% had good attitude towards healthy lifestyle. Only 9.7% consumed healthy diet, while majority 88.0% and 72.7% had good practice regarding tobacco smoking and alcohol consumption respectively. Gender was a significant predictor of alcohol use, 55.8% of the study population engaged in adequate physical activity, while very few (3.8%) of the respondents engaged in healthy lifestyle. Conclusion: Although the bankers had good attitude towards healthy lifestyle, their knowledge and practice of healthy living was poor. The management of every bank should invest in periodic health promotion and wellness programs that will promote all the components of healthy living for their employees. Key words: Bankers, Healthy Lifestyle, KAP, Lagos INTRODUCTION Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) accounted for 63% of all recorded deaths globally in 2008, with the majority (about 80%) occurring in developing countries 1 . According to the World Health Organization (WHO) country profile, 254.6/100,000 males and 285.2/100,000 females in Nigeria died as a result of non communicable diseases in 2008 accounting for twenty seven percent of all deaths 2 . The majority of these NCDs are preventable diseases linked to four lifestyle-related behaviors, namely: unhealthy diet, alcohol consumption, tobacco and sedentary lifestyle. One and a half billion of the world’s adult population were overweight while 11% were obese in 2008 1 . For the same year, more than a quarter of Nigerians were estimated to be overweight while 6.5% were obese 3 . Obesity is a consequence of an imbalance between energy expended and calories consumed. Globalization, urbanization and technological development have resulted in changes in dietary habits and physical inactivity with an observed increase in the occurrence of obesity over the years 4 . Lack of physical activity has been associated with death of millions of people over the years. It was estimated in 2008 that 31% of adults were not engaging in sufficient physical activity, putting them at risk of ischaemic heart disease, diabetes, breast and colon cancer 5 . Harmful use of alcohol has been associated with behavioral and health conditions ranging from road traffic accidents, domestic violence, risky sexual behavior, mental disorders and liver diseases resulting in over two million deaths annually and increased expenditure on healthcare 6 . Globally, there has been a steady increase in availability of various range of alcoholic drinks as well as alcohol abuse over the years. An estimated 1.95% of Nigerian males and 0.03% of females had alcohol use disorders, which, in view of the large [Downloaded free from http://www.jcsjournal.org on Monday, October 12, 2020, IP: 197.159.68.3]