Prevalence of dyslipidemia and obesity among college students in Kuwait

Abstract

BackgroundDyslipidemia is a major cause of cardiovascular disease. There is a remarkable rise in its prevalence. The relation between overweight/obesity and dyslipidemia has been approved. ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of elevated levels of blood lipids and obesity among college students in Kuwait. MethodsA sample of 484 students aged 17–24years, were chosen randomly from the College of Basic Education, Kuwait, during the period from the beginning of March 2009 till mid January 2010. Data were collected, using a predesigned interviewing schedule that contained personal information, weight, height, waist circumference and blood lipid profile. ResultsThe overall prevalence of dyslipidemia, overweight and obesity were 10.5%, 30.6% and 19.8% among the studied sample respectively. Waist circumference based obesity was found in 41.8%. Overweight was more frequently encountered in females whereas higher proportion of BMI-based obesity was found in males. The prevalence of waist circumference-based obesity was higher in females than in males. ConclusionPrevalence of elevated levels of blood lipids and BMI-based obesity was higher among male than female students in the college. More screening should be performed especially for overweight/obese students for the risk of dyslipidemia.