Title: Obesity Prevalence and its Associated Risk Factors in Women of Ha’il Region in Saudi Arabia

Authors: Dr Ramadevi Kundur, Ms. Moody Rohail Al Gaithy

 DOI:  https://dx.doi.org/10.18535/jmscr/v5i3.39

Abstract

Obesity is a condition of excessive fat accumulation in the body leading to health hazards and reduced life expectancy. Obesity is rising in Saudi Arabia at an alarming rate, especially women. There is a need to assess the extent of obesity in women and also the various disorders associated with it such as Hypertension, Diabetes and Cardio Vascular Diseases in the Ha’il province of Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional study was done in 501 random patients and the association between obesity and presence of chronic diseases was examined using the Statistical software program (SPSS, version 20). In this study, it is found that obesity is highly correlated with Diabetes (OR=0.495, 95% CI= 0.26-0.91, P<0.05). A high Body Mass Index (BMI) indicated high risk for Diabetes. But, Cardio Vascular Diseases and hypertension did not show any significant association with BMI and seem to be age related rather than obesity, as they increased with age irrespective of BMI. 90% of the women in Hail region were found to be obese. There is a need for immediate action to be taken to educate the women about the obesity related risks and to prevent obesity by a adopting healthy lifestyle.                                        

Keywords- Body Mass Index (BMI), Cardio Vascular Diseases (CVD), Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP), Diastolic Blood Pressure (DBP), Hypertension.

References

1.      WHO, Obesity and Overweight; 2015. http://apps.who.int/gho/data/node.main.A897A?lang=en

2.      Daoud F, El Bcheraoui C, Tuffaha M, AlMazroa MA, Al Saeedi M, Nooh RM, Al Rayess Z, Al-Raddadi RM, Memish ZA, Basulaiman M, Al Rabeeah AA, Mokdad AH. The health status of Saudi women: findings from a national survey. J Public Health (Oxf). 2016 .38 (4): 660-672.

3.      Martinez, J.A., Body-weight regulation: causes of obesity. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 2000. 59(3): p. 337-345.

4.      Azdi, FT; Clee, SM; Meyer, D.  "Obesity genetics in mouse and human: back and forth, and back again.". Peer  2015. 3:856. doi:10.7717/peerj.856. PMC 4375971. PMID 2582568

5.      Abuyassin B, Laher I Diabetes epidemic sweeping the Arab world. World J Diabetes. 2016. Apr 25;7(8):165-74. doi: 10.4239/wjd.v7.i8.165.

6.      Warsy AS, el-Hazmi MA. Diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and obesity — common multifactorial disorders in Saudis. East Mediterr Health J 1999;5(6):1236–42 [PubMed]

7.      Gerald Shaper. A, S Goya Wannamethee, Mary Walker. Body weight: implications for the prevention of coronary heart disease, stroke, and diabetes mellitus in a cohort study of middle aged men. BMJ 1997; 314:1311

8.      Kocemba J, Kawecka-Jaszcz K, Gryglewska B, Grodzicki T. Isolated systolic hypertension: pathophysiology, consequences and therapeutic benefits. J Hum Hypertens. 1998 Sep;12(9):621-6.

9.      Weber MA, Bakris GL, Hester A, Weir MR, Hua TA, Zappe D, Dahlof B, Velazquez EJ, Pitt B, Jamerson K. Systolic blood pressure and cardiovascular outcomes during treatment of hyperten-sion. Am J Med. 2013 Jun;126(6):501-8. doi: 10.1016/j.amjmed.2013.01.007. Epub 2013 Mar 28.

10.  Charbel El Bcheraoui,  Marwa Tuffaha,  Farah Daoud,  Margaret Robinson,  Sara Jaber,   Sarah Mikhitarian,   Mohammad Al Seedy, Mohammad A. AlMazroa,  Ali H. Mokdad,  and Abdullah A. Al Rabeeah. Hypertension and Its Associated Risk Factors in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 2013: A National Survey.  Int J Hypertens. 2014; 2014: 564679.  doi:  10.1155/2014/564679

11.  Koura MR, Al-Dabal BK, Rasheed P, Al-Sowielem LS, Makki SM. Prehypertension among young adult females in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. East Mediterr Health J. 2012 Jul;18(7):728-34.

12.  Al-Nozha MM, Abdullah M, Arafah MR, Khalil MZ, Khan NB, Al-Mazrou YY, Al-Maatouq MA, Al-Marzouki K, Al-Khadra A, Nouh MS, Al-Harthi SS, Al-Shahid MS,Al-Mobeireek A. Hypertension in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Med J. 2007 Jan;28(1):77-84.

13.  Al-Hamdan N, A. Saeed, A. Kutbi, A. J. Choudhry, and R. Nooh. Characteristics, Risk Factors, and Treatment Practices of Known Adult Hypertensive Patients in Saudi Arabia. International Journal of Hypertension: 2010, Volume 2010, Article ID 168739, 7 pages. doi:10.4061/2010/168739.

14.  Mousumi Bose, Blanca Oliván, and  Blandine Laferrère.  Stress and obesity: the role of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis in metabolic disease.  Curr Opin End-ocrinol Diabetes Obes. 2009 Oct; 16(5): 340–346.doi:  10.1097/MED.0b013e3--2832fa137.

15.  Stefania Lamon-Fava, Peter W.F. Wilson and Ernst J. Schaefer, Impact of Body Mass Index on Coronary Heart Disease Risk Factors in Men and Women, The Framingham Offspring Study.   

16.  Klenk J, Rapp K, Ulmer H, Concin H, Nagel G. 2014. Changes of body mass index in relation to mortality: results of a cohort of 42,099 adults. PLoS One. 2014 Jan 8;9(1):e84817. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0084817.

17.  Yu Chen, Wade K Copeland, Rajesh Vedanthan, Eric Grant, Jung Eun Lee, et.al. Association between body mass index and cardiovascular disease mortality in east Asians and south Asians: pooled analysis of prospective data from the Asia Cohort Consortium.  BMJ 2013;347:f5446

18.  Peters E.T, Seidell JC, Menotti A, Arayanis C, Dontas A, Fidanza F, Karvonen M, Nedeljkovic S, Nissinen A, Buzina R, et al. Changes in body weight in relation to mortality in 6441 European middle-aged men: the Seven Countries Study. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 1995 Dec;19(12):862-8.

19.  Owen CG, Whincup PH, Orfei L, Chou QA, Rudnicka AR, Wathern AK, Kaye SJ, Eriksson JG, Osmond C, Cook DG. Is body mass index before middle age related to coronary heart disease risk in later life? Evidence from observational studies.  Int J Obes (Lond). Aug;33(8):866-77. doi: 10.1038/ijo.2009.102.

20.  Redon J, Mancia G, Sleight P, Schumacher H, Gao P, Pogue J, Fagard R, Verdecchia P, Weber M, Böhm M, Williams B, Yusoff K, Teo K, Yusuf S .  Safety and efficacy of low blood pressures among patients with diabetes: subgroup analyses from the ONTARGET. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2012 Jan 3;59(1):74-83. doi: 10.1016/j.jacc.2011.09.040.

Corresponding Author

Dr Ramadevi Kundur

Assistant Professor, Department of Clinical Laboratory Science, College of Applied Medical Sciences

University of Ha’il, Saudi Arabia

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; Phone-+966502701879