The prevalence of overweight and obesity is increasing globally in both developing and developed countries, especially, those with rapid cultural and social changes. The aims of current study were twofold: (a) to examine, for the first time in Syria, the prevalence of overweight, obesity and central obesity in Syrian women and obesity-related socio-demographic determinants, and (b) to establish a base line data about obesity related determinants needed to develop appropriate treatment and prevention strategies. Cross-sectional study with a randomly representative sample of 923 women aged 18-60 years was conducted. Waist (WC) and hip circumference (HC) were measured, and body mass index (BMI) waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) were calculated. Socio-demographic data were collected with a designed questionnaire. The overall prevalence of overweight and obesity in Syrian women as defined by BMI were 31% and 43%, respectively. The overall central obesity as defined by WC and WHR were 53% and 33%, respectively. The prevalence of obesity and central obesity were increased with age. WC and HC were strongly correlated with BMI. The mean BMIs and other anthropometric measurements were significantly higher in married, house wife, less educated, high parity, and low physical activity women. The results of this study indicate an increased rates of overweight, overall, and central obesity in Syrian women. Also, central obesity as defined by WC is higher than BMI derived obesity. In conclusion, WC is more appropriate to be used for obesity assessment, where, BMI underestimates the obesity prevalence among middle-age women. Development of appropriate treatment and prevention strategies are urgently needed to combat with increasing rate of obesity among Syrian women.

The metabolic syndrome (MetS) is an important group of components responsible of high incidence of cardio-vascular disease (CVD) and stroke among the type 2 diabetic mellitus (DM) patients. Studies on the prevalence of the MetS and its components among DM patients are limited in developing countries and such studies never been done in Syria before. The objectives of current study were two-folds: (a) to investigate the prevalence of MetS in a group of DM Syrian patients as defined by NCEP-ATP III and IDF diagnostic criteria, and (b) to identify the individual MetS associated risk factors components in the studied group. A cross-sectional study carried out at one of the diabetic clinics of the health ministry in Damascus, Syria between 2016–2017. A random sample of 424 patients (209 males, 215 females) DM patients aged 40–79 years were participated in this study. Anthropometric indices, blood pressure (BP), fasting blood sugar (FBS), total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), triglycerides (TG) were determined. The overall prevalence of the MetS was 67% and 69.3% according to the NCEP-ATP III and IDF criteria, respectively. The prevalence was higher in females and increased with age. According to NCEP/ATP III criteria and for the overall group, high TG was the most prevalent component of the MetS. However, when an IDF criterion was applied, central obesity was the commonest component in the overall group. According to both diagnostic criteria, hypertension was significantly higher in males while central obesity was dominated in females (p<0.05, p<0.001, respectively). In conclusion, the results revealed high prevalence of the MetS in DM Syrian patients using both diagnostic criteria but slightly higher with IDF criteria. Especial care, health awareness, life style modifications, and proper medications should be directed towards controlling the risk factors components of this syndrome.

Assessment of bone mineral density (BMD) using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) technique is considered as a standard technique for diagnosing osteopenia and osteoporosis and evaluating the severity of such diseases. Numerous studies have demonstrated the necessity to establish an ethnicspecific reference data for Bone mineral density measurements. Such data are lacking for the Syrian population. The objectives of this study are (1) to establish BMD reference values in a group of healthy Syrian women using DXA technique, (2) to compare with values from other populations, (3) to study the prevalence of osteopenia and osteoporosis in Syrian women using the manufacturer reference values. A total of 951 healthy Syrian women aged 20-79 years participated in this study. Weight, height, and BMI have been determined. BMD measurements were performed using Lunar Prodigy Advance System (GE). The data were compared with those from other populations. The results have demonstrated the expected decline in BMD with age after peaking at 30-39 years old group. The peak values of the lumbar spine and femur neck were 1.16 (0.12), and 0.95 (0.13) g/cm 2 , respectively. The results of the Syrian women were compared with those from other populations and the differences were presented. Osteopenia was diagnosed in 35.80% and 60.31% and osteoporosis in 6.23% and 2.72% in lumbar spine and femur neck, respectively, of women 50-59 years of age. These ratios increased to 36.84%, 68.42% and 23.68%, 13.10%, respectively, in the age group more than 59 years. BMD values of the Syrian women were determined for the first time. The results demonstrate the importance of establishing population-specific reference range for BMD values for an accurate assessment of Osteoporosis. High prevalence of osteopenia and osteoporosis was demonstrated in Syrian using the manufacturer reference values.

Purpose: Obesity is a common health problem in both developed and developing countries. BMI is commonly used to identify obesity. However, there is increasing evidence that the relationship between BMI and BF% differs among various ethnicities. The main objectives of this study are (1) to evaluate the correlation between BF% as determined by BIA, DEXA, Deuterium oxide (D2O) and BMI, (2) to assess the accuracy of currently used WHOÅLs BMI cut-off points to identify overweight and obesity among Syrian women. Material and Methods: A total of 908 healthy Syrian women aged 18-60 years participated in this study. Weight, height, BMI, BF% assessed by BIA and DEXA, and D2O have been determined. Results: BF% results obtained by BIA and DEXA, and D2O revealed strong correlations. BMI showed a statistically significant correlation with BF% determined by BIA, DEXA and D2O. Obesity when defined as BMI ≥ 30 and as BF% > 35% (derived from BIA, DEXA and D2O) classified 43%, 52.5%, 75.9% and 72.7% of women as obese, respectively. ROC analysis defined BMI cut-off points for overweight and obesity of 22.5 and 25.7, respectively. Using the new BMI cut-off point, the prevalence of obesity among Syrian women was increased by 24%. Conclusions: The current BMI cut-off points recommended by WHO underestimate the prevalence of overweight and obesity among Syrian women. Our data suggests that it is important to lower the proposed WHOÅLs BMI cut-off points for the Syrian women.