Abstract
BackgroundOnce considered as the main public health problem in developed countries, obesity has become a major problem throughout the world and developing countries, like Iran, are joining the global obesity pandemic. We determined the prevalence of overweight, obesity, and hypertension in a large cohort of Iranians and compared age-adjusted rates with the rates in the US. MethodsGolestan Cohort Study is a population-based study of 8,998 men and women, aged 35-81 years, from urban and rural areas. Anthropometric parameters were measured by interviewers. Prevalence rates were directly adjusted to the 2000 United States standard population.ResultsThe age-adjusted prevalence rates of overweight (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2) and obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2) in this Iranian population were 62.2% and 28.0%, respectively. Both overweight and obesity were more common in women than men. Age-adjusted prevalence of overweight was significantly higher in Iranian women compared to the American women (68.6% vs. 61.6%), while the age-adjusted prevalence of obesity is closer in these two populations (34.9% vs. 33.2%). Iranian men—compared to American men—had significantly lower age-adjusted prevalence of overweight (53.7% vs. 68.8%) and obesity (16.2% vs. 27.5%). Age-adjusted prevalence of hypertension was higher in Iranian women than American women (35.7% vs. 30.5%). Diabetes mellitus was reported in 6.2% of participants. Mean waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) among women was 0.96. Smoking rates in men and women were 33.2% and 2.2%, respectively. ConclusionThe prevalence of obesity, overweight, and hypertension in Iran is as high as the US. However, Iranian women are more obese than American women and Iranian men are less obese than their American counterparts. This discrepancy might be due to the low rate of smoking among Iranian women. Iranian women have higher mean WHR than what WHO has defined in 19 other populations.
Highlights
Once considered as the main public health problem in developed countries, obesity has become a major problem throughout the world and developing countries, like Iran, are joining the global obesity pandemic
It is suggested that fetal growth and maternal nutrition have crucial effects on epigenetic programming of obesity, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and hypertension [1,2,3] and in these countries we are dealing with a generation born in more traditional environment–and more susceptible to obesity and insulin resistance–who is exposed to high-calorie foods and sedentary lifestyle
Prevalence of obesity and overweight Excluding one individual whose height was missing from the analysis, the study population consisted of 8,998 participants (3,786 men and 5,212 women) with mean ± standard deviation (SD) age of 52.8 ± 9.4 years
Summary
Once considered as the main public health problem in developed countries, obesity has become a major problem throughout the world and developing countries, like Iran, are joining the global obesity pandemic. By merely focusing on specific types of endemic diseases in the region, we undermine significant problems like obesity and metabolic syndrome that might have equal or even greater impact on the health of people in these countries. These health issues are more discussed in developed countries, we should notice that most Middle Eastern countries are joining the global obesity pandemic and the problem becomes more significant when we consider the trend in developing countries toward the Western lifestyles. As Horton has highlighted, we have an unusual opportunity to act in order to prevent the needless deaths of millions by focusing on risk factors of chronic diseases in low-income countries [8]
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