PREVALENCE OF OBESITY IN THE SAUDI POPULATION

Obesity, i.e., excessive deposition of fat in the body, is the most co mmon nutritional disorder in the developed countries. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity in the population of Saudi Arabia living in different regions of the country . A total of 14,660 adult Saudi males and females (>14 years of age) i n 35 areas were screened and information on height (m) and weight (kg) was recorded during a National Project to study various aspects of di abetes mellitus in Saudi Arabia. The Body Mass index (BMI) was calcula ted and the data was used to group the males and females as overweight (BMI=25-29.9) and obese (BMI greater than or equal to 30). In the tot al Saudi population the prevalence of overweight was 27.23% and 25.20% in the males and females respectively, while the prevalence of obesit y was 13.05% and 20.26% in the males and females respectively. When se parated on the basis of each region, the prevalence of obesity was hig hest in the females in Central Province and in the males in the Wester n Province, while overweight was more prevalent in both the male and f emale population of the Central Province. The data was further analyze d depending on each area within each province and significant differen ces were encountered. In general, overweight was more common in the ma les and obesity in the females. This high prevalence of obesity is a c ause for concern, since obesity is associated with several complicatio ns which increase birth morbidity and mortality. Awareness programs mu st be initiated and nationwide control and prevention programs need to be adopted to decrease the prevalence of obesity in the Saudi populat ion.