Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity in Turkey

Abstract

Obesity is a major public health problem affecting an important proportion of the Turkish population. The prevalence of obesity has significantly increased among adult Turkish population over the past 20years. In 1990, 18.8% of the adult population was obese (28.5% among women and 9% among men), and the prevalence increased to 36% in 2010 (44% among women and 27% among men). From the data, we found that the prevalence of obesity in Turkey has increased steadily from 1990 to 2010 in both genders. Adult obesity-associated risk factors are age, gender, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, smoking cessation, alcohol consumption, high household income, low education level and physical activity, occupation, marital status and a family of selected medical conditions (e.g. obesity, diabetes and hypertension). To control obesity, necessary precautions should urgently be taken. The precautions include serious public health education encouraging a well-balanced diet and increasing physical activity.