| dc.description.abstract | In Norway, women of Somali background are more overweight and obese than their Norwegian counterparts, with an increased susceptibility for diabetes and other lifestylerelated diseases. There is limited information about their dietary intake and physical activity. Therefore, the aim of this thesis was to describe food and nutrient intake, physical activity, and associated factors among overweight and obese women of Somali background in Oslo. Data collection took place at the Healthy Life centres in the two boroughs in Oslo municipality. 168 women were included between September 2020 and September 2022. A trained interviewer performed 24-hour dietary recalls on two consecutive days, assessing food and beverage intake and also collected physical activity data using by a questionnaire. The dietary assessment system KBS (version 7.3, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway, database AE-18) was used to make energy, food, and nutrient estimations. All the collected data was entered and stored in the portal Services for Sensitive data (TSD). Analysis of the data was performed using IBM SPSS statistical software, to compare variables, relevant statistics such as Pearson correlation coefficient and one way ANOVA were performed. P-values < 0.05 were considered to be statistically significant. The main dietary intake was traditional Somali food such as rice, pasta, meat. The mean energy intake was 4.5 MJ/day. Most of the macronutrient intake were in compliance with the daily recommendations, apart from few. The total median intakes of almost all micronutrients were below recommended daily intake (RI) and Average recommendation (AR) apart from vitamin A, niacin, vitamin B12, zinc and selenium. Over 90% of the participants reported not participating in any very strenuous and moderate physical activity. Most of the participant’s leisure time and physical activity is done at home. Based on our results, participants choose not to be physically active, even when they have the option. Although, most of the macronutrient intake were in compliance with the daily recommendations, apart from few, the intake of micronutrients was below the recommended daily intakes. Thus, the results need to be interpreted with caution. Furthermore, participants are not highly physically active, this could be due to a number of reasons, and including barriers to activity and cultural reasons, which should be explored further in future research and intervention programs. | eng |