Elsevier

Nutrition Research

Volume 22, Issue 11, November 2002, Pages 1243-1252
Nutrition Research

Prevalence and risk factors of obesity and overweight in adult Saudi population

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0271-5317(02)00439-6Get rights and content

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and factors associated with obesity and overweight among adult Saudis using a national survey data from 1990 to 1993. The study population included 1652 men and 1619 women between 30 to 70 years of age. The prevalence of obesity was 49.15% in women and 29.94% in men, while the prevalence of being overweight but not obese was 31.55% in women and 41.91% in men. Obese and overweight women and men were significantly more likely to be between 40–49 years of age, with higher income, and hypertensive. Although physical activity was low in all women, obese women were significantly less likely to be engaged in any physical activity. Obese and overweight men were more likely to be non-smokers. Intervention strategies that target this population at risk are needed in Saudi Arabia.

Introduction

Obesity is considered an epidemic health problem as populations adopt sedentary lifestyles and increase their per capita caloric intake [1], [2], [3]. It is a major risk factor for many chronic diseases, including hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus, coronary heart disease, and stroke [4]. This accumulation of body fat is associated with genetic, metabolic, hormonal and behavioral risk factors [5]. Obesity is usually defined as a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 kg/m2 or higher while overweight is defined as a BMI between 25 and 29.9 kg/m2 [6].

Obesity has been noted as a major public health problem in many countries including Arab countries [7], [8], [9], [10], [11]. Although prior studies in Saudi Arabia reported high rates of overweight and obesity [12], [13], [14], [15], more information is needed to determine the factors related to the increasing levels of overweight and obesity, and to develop appropriate prevention strategies. This paper will examine the risk factors of obesity and overweight among adult Saudis using data from three of the largest regions of Saudi Arabia.

Section snippets

Population

The data used in this study were collected as a part of a Saudi national survey (1990–1993) to determine the prevalence of chronic metabolic diseases and related risk factors. The study population included rural and urban male and female Saudi adults between 15 to 70 years of age living in three regions of Saudi Arabia (SA). A Saudi was identified as a person either holding a Saudi Nationality Identification Card or a dependent of a holder. Age was calculated from the official date of birth on

Results

A total of 3271 participants (50.5% females and 49.5% males) completed the survey questionnaire. Height and weight measurements were not available for 10 participants and 156 participants did not provide waist and hip circumference measurements.

The prevalence of overweight and obesity, using BMI as the index of adiposity, are shown in Table 1. For the overall population and for each age group, there were higher proportions of females categorized as obese; 31.55% and 49.15% of Saudi women were

Discussion

A striking finding of the study was the very high prevalence of overweight and obesity among Saudi adults. Our data show that the majority of the population was either overweight (36.68%) or obese (39.65%). This high prevalence has been noted in other Saudi studies [12], [13], [14], [15], although one study reported a lower prevalence of obesity (17.2%) and overweight (26%) [21]. This lower prevalence, however, might be attributed to its inclusion of teenagers and young adults in the study.

In

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