Prevalence of obesity, central obesity, and associated socio-demographic variables in Syrian women using different anthropometric indicators

Abstract

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.

Weight Status at Postpartum: Being Normal Weight Yet Centrally Obese!

“…This study found significant positive association between CO and age as well as parity. This finding is consistent with findings from other earlier studies [9] [11] [24]. Transient insulin resistance during pregnancy that encourage intraabdominal fat accumulation may explain higher central obesity in women with higher parity [27].…”

“…Rising trends in central obesity have been found in populations of different countries [8]. A study among Syrian women found central obesity as defined by WC was higher than BMI derived obesity [9]. Some studies have associated high prevalence of central obesity among women with such physiological processes as child bearing [10] [11].…”

Central obesity and hypertension among rural adults of Paschim Medinipur, West Bengal, India

“…In our study, the overall prevalence of CO was 61.6% based on WHR cut-offs wherein females were more centrally obese than males (87.2% vs. 35.7%). This result was found to be similar with some previous studies (Abolfotouh et al 2008;Sarkar et al 2009;Nalawade and Prabhu 2012;Kaur et al 2013;Bindhu et al 2014;Goon et al 2014;Siddiquee et al 2015;Chauhan et al 2015;Veghari et al 2016;Bakir et al 2017;Nagendra et al 2017). On the other hand males have shown consistently lower prevalence in comparison to females in all the mentioned studies.…”

Determination of nutrient composition of some selected traditional home- made meals commonly consumed in Syria

“…Obesity is considered as a major underlying risk factor of these diseases 5,6 . Alarmingly, data from 2017 suggests a high and potentially rising prevalence of overweight and obesity within the Syrian population 7 .…”