Obesity and Associated Factors — Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 2013

Abstract

IntroductionData on obesity from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) are nonexistent, making it impossible to determine whether the efforts of the Saudi Ministry of Health are having an effect on obesity trends. To determine obesity prevalence and associated factors in the KSA, we conducted a national survey on chronic diseases and their risk factors.MethodsWe interviewed 10,735 Saudis aged 15 years or older (51.1% women) through a multistage survey. Data on sociodemographic characteristics, health-related habits and behaviors, diet, physical activity, chronic diseases, access to and use of health care, and anthropometric measurements were collected through computer-assisted personal interviews. We first compared sociodemographic factors and body mass index between men and women. Next, we conducted a sex-specific analysis for obesity and its associated factors using backward elimination multivariate logistic regression models. We used SAS 9.3 for the statistical analyses and to account for the complex sampling design.ResultsOf the 10,735 participants evaluated, 28.7% were obese (body mass index ≥30 kg/m2). Prevalence of obesity was higher among women (33.5% vs 24.1%). Among men, obesity was associated with marital status, diet, physical activity, diagnoses of diabetes and hypercholesterolemia, and hypertension. Among women, obesity was associated with marital status, education, history of chronic conditions, and hypertension.ConclusionObesity remains strongly associated with diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, and hypertension in the KSA, although the epidemic’s characteristics differ between men and women.

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“…The proportion of obesity was higher among women (33.5%) and associated with marital status, education, history of chronic conditions, and hypertension. Obesity in men was associated with marital status, diet, physical activity, diagnoses of diabetes and hypercholesterolemia, and hypertension [15].…”

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“…The Saudi Diabetes and Endocrine Association in 2010 estimated the indirect and direct costs of obesity problems in the KSA population to be about five billion dollars per year [9]. Furthermore, rates of hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, type 2 diabetes, arthritis problems, and cancer have all increased dramatically in recent years among Saudi citizens [11,12]. These unhealthy diets, smoking, lack of sufficient physical activity, chronic viral infections, and lack of knowledge about cancer and its prevention and screening methods have resulted in rising burden of cancer reported as one of the fastest growing health concerns in the KSA [12,13,14,15].…”

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