Abstract
Objective: This study assesses the prevalence of obesity and its associated factors among adults aged 18 y and above at the Kampaung kolam, Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia.Methods: This cross-sectional survey comprised of a semi-structured face to face interview questionnaire and collected anthropometric measurements and sex specific waist circumference in cm. The study population was 70 in total with 21 (30%) males and 49 (70%) females aged 18 y and above were selected by universal sampling. Body mass index (BMI) was used for weight status and sex specific waist circumference (WC) in cm was used for assessment of abdominal or central obesity at risk of metabolic complications associated with obesity.Results: Among men, the prevalence of underweight was 9.5%, normal weight 57.1%, overweight 14.3% and obesity 19.1%, while among women, the prevalence of underweight was 12.2%, normal weight 53.1%, overweight 14.3% and obesity 20.4%. Overall, 18 (25.7%) was obese and 52 (74.3%) was non-obese while sex specific WC in cm 19 (27.1%) was abdominal obese who were at risk of metabolic complication associated with obesity and 51 (72.9%) was not at risk. In chi-square association tests revealed that among respondents, currently married, unemployed and having family history with obesity were associated with generalized obesity while respondents who were currently married and having fast food frequently were associated with abdominal obesity and respondents who being currently married, unemployed and having fast food frequently were more likely to obese in generalized as well as abdominally.Conclusion: There was no association between generalized, abdominal and generalized and abdominal obesity with age, gender, education, flat floor structure, dietary patterns and habits, physical activities, sleep pattern and knowledge and attitude level towards obesity but those factors can be utilized in effective health promotion programmers of weight management strategies by targeting those factors in design for prevention of hypertension, diabetes and related cardio vascular diseases CVD.
Highlights
The term obesity and overweight can sometimes be confusing
Prevalence of abdominal obesity is defined as waist circumference (WC) ≥90 cm for men and ≥ 80 cm for women according to World Health Organization (WHO) for Asian population
This study showed that marital status was significantly associated with obesity (p = 0.001), where the respondents who currently married had higher prevalence of generalized obesity (36.4%), higher prevalence of abdominal obesity (36.4%) and higher prevalence of both generalized and abdominal obesity (27.3%) compared to unmarried respondents (7.7%), (11.5%) and (3.8%) respectively
Summary
The term obesity and overweight can sometimes be confusing. According to World Health Organization (WHO) obesity is defined as a condition of abnormal or excessive fat accumulation in adipose tissue all over the body. Obesity can lead to the extent that health may be impaired. While overweight is describe as excessive weight that may be from extra muscle, bone, water as well as from having too much fat. Both terms mean the weight is higher than their ideal body weight that is thought to be healthy for their height. One of the most commonly used indices of relative weight to classify obesity in our study is the Body Mass Index (BMI). WHO expert consultation [1]
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