Obesity and overweight among Dubai population, prevalence and associated risk factors. Cross sectional analytical study

Sunday, 17 August 2014
Exhibit hall (Dena'ina Center)
Hamid Y Hussain, PhD , faculty of medicine, university of baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq
INTRODUCTION:  

 Overweight and Obesity has emerged as one of the most important public health issues in the United Arab Emirates in the last two decades.  Global wise , WHO(world Health organization) projects that by 2015, approximately 2.3 billion adults will be overweight and more than 700 million will be obese. Obesity prevalence is higher in A women; overweight is more common in  men. Obesity is especially common in certain minority ethnic groups, It has been known that obesity is associated with several diseases and  disorders . Objective: to assess the prevalence rate of overweight and obesity among Dubai population, and to determine some of the associated risk  factors like socio demographic factors, lifestyle, exercise and dietary habits.  

METHODS: A cross sectional study was carried out on randomly selected multi stage stratified  random  Sample of ( 2700)   individuals  of different age, gender , income , social class.,  (by using Epi-Info version 6.04, previous  frequency ( 35%) and precision degree 3%).  Interview structured questionnaires  used to assess the socio demographic data, anthropometric measurements, exercise history, dietary and lifestyle history, Weight, height,  waist circumference  , BMI, Knowledge, attitudes practisepractice.     Age rang of study sample  (6-65) years, identified from  schools , universities , primary health care centers visitors ,  governmental offices  , commercial Malls and house hold families  

RESULTS:  The study revealed that(20.6%) of  adult male Dubai  population  were obese and (34.5%) were overweight (95% Confidence Interval (CI) =70.35-75.85)  , About ( 30.2%) of women in Dubai , obese while 36.6% overweight, , about  half of Male Dubai population are obese and overweight while two third of Dubai women population are obese and overweight.  The study showed that Obesity alone among adults Dubai population  was estimated as( 25.4%)  while overweight alone  among Dubai population was (35.1%s ).  Step wise Logistic regression analysis showed that significant risks of obesity  were ,nationality  Odds 1.5(95% CI1.16-200) P 0.003,, marital status  Odds 2.4 (95% CI 2.45-1.60) P 0.000 , diet pattern score  Odds 1.47(95% CI 0.79-3.51) P 0.004  and lifestyle patterns score  Odds 1.44 (95%CI 1.11-1.88) P 0.007. as regarding the children below 18 years old , the study showed that  overweight and obesity was 26.7 %, 12.2 % respectively. Male encountered a significant higher percentage of overweight & obesity (30.1% &15.4% respectively) than females (23.1% & 8.9 % respectively, p<0.05). Non- national( non  UAE) students experienced a higher percentage of overweight & obesity (29.2 % &12.8 % respectively) compared to  UAE nationals (20.2 % &10.6 % respectively)P<0.05.  Younger ages below( 15 years) were  more overweight or obese compared to above(15 Years), (30.8 %, 25.2 % overweight respectively ) and for obesity ( 15.3 %, 10.4 % & 9.7 % respectively). Stepwise logistic regression analysis delineated five predictors for overweight and obesity:, eating fast food regularly, positive family history of obesity, male gender, older  age and non- national students (OR = 1.44, 1.51, 1.79, 1.72, and 1.41 respectively   

CONCLUSIONS:  

obesity and overweigh  among Dubai population is alarming  and  great threaten for population health future wise  ,These baseline data are useful for future trends monitoring and may be used for health promotion planning to prevent obesity.