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Objectives: To determine the prevalence of obesity indices (body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), body fat per cent (BF%)) and cardiometabolic risk factors. To investigate the association between obesity indices and cardiometabolic risk factors in a Zanzibari population., Designs: Cross-sectional study., Settings: Participants randomly selected from 80 Shehias (wards) in Unguja, Zanzibar in 2013., Participants: A total of 470 participants between 5 and 95 years were examined. Data on socioeconomic status, area of residence, anthropometry and venous blood were collected. Associations between obesity indices and cardiometabolic risk factors were investigated using multilevel logistic regression analyses in two steps: first, each obesity indicator was tested independently; second, all indicators combined in one model were tested for their association with cardiometabolic risk factors., Results: The proportion of overweight/obese individuals was 26.4%, high WC (24.9%) and high BF% (31.1%). Cardiometabolic risk factors with highest prevalence of abnormal values included hypertension (24.5%), low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) (29.4%), high low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (21.3%) and high glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) (19.1%). Obesity and hypertension increased with age, and were most prevalent in participants aged 45 years and above. Low HDL-C was most prevalent among participants aged ≥18 to <45 years, while high LDL-C was more prevalent in those above 45 years. High WC and high BF% were associated with high levels of LDL-C (OR=2.52 (95% CI 1.24 to 5.13), OR=1.91 (95% CI 1.02 to 3.58), respectively). Additionally, BMI and WC were associated with high levels of HbA1c (OR=2.08 (95% CI 1.15 to 3.79), OR=3.01 (95% CI 1.51 to 6.03), respectively). In the combined regression model, WC was associated with higher chances for hypertension (OR=2.62 (95% CI 1.14 to 6.06)) and for high levels of HbA1c (OR=2.62 (95% CI 1.12 to 6.15))., Conclusion: High BMI, WC and BF% were strongly associated with hypertension, with individuals with high WC being twice more likely to have hypertension; this calls for early and effective screening strategies for this study population., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2019. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Rapid growth of the Zanzibari population and urbanization are expected to impact food insecurity and malnutrition in Zanzibar. This study explored the relationship between food access (FA) and sociodemographic correlates with food consumption score and food insecurity experience scale. Based on cross-sectional data of 196 randomly selected households, we first investigated the association between sociodemographic correlates and Food Consumption Score (FCS) and Food Insecurity Experience Scale using multilevel Poisson regression. Secondly, the role of FA in these associations was investigated by interaction with the respective correlates. About 65% of households had poor food consumption, and 32% were severely food-insecure. Poor FA was more prevalent in households with poor food consumption (71%). Polygamous households and larger households had a higher chance for severe food insecurity. In the interaction with FA, only larger households with poor FA showed a higher chance for severe food insecurity. In households having no vehicle, good FA increased the chance of having acceptable FCS compared to poor FA. By contrast, urban households with good FA had a twofold chance of acceptable FCS compared to rural household with poor FA. Poor FA, poor food consumption and food insecurity are challenging; hence, facilitating households' FA may improve the population's nutrition situation.