Weight status among young males in Upper Egypt

Abstract

Background: Obesity is a common health problem, with increasing prevalence world-wide. The metabolic changes of obesity can induce serious health problems and increase the risk for many diseases. Aim of the Work: The aim of this study to determine the body weight disorders, socio-demographic profile and associated medical conditions among young male adults in the Upper Egypt. Subjects and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out in Qena University Hospital from 1 st August 2011 to 31 st August 2012, with a total number of 500 male subjects ranging from 18 to 30 years old. All individuals participating in the study were submitted to the followings: Filling a predesigned data collection sheet including: Demographic and socioeconomic data, family history of obesity, full clinical examination and laboratory investigations: Fasting glucose level for all participants and post-prandial serum glucose level for subjects with history of diabetes mellitus (DM) or have a risk factor of DM. Results: About 6% of subjects found to be obese with body mass index above 30. Middle social class was found to comprise most individuals with normal weight (69.6%). On the other hand, more than half of the underweights (57.9%) and 41.9% of obese subjects were from low social class. Most of youth of high social class were either normal (46.7%) or over weight and none of them were underweight (P < 0.001). About 3% and 6.5% of obese persons were found to be diabetics and hypertensive respectively. There was a significant association between obesity and the presence of family history of obesity (P = 0.012). Conclusion: The prevalence of obesity was similar among young males from different places in the Upper Egypt with being more prevalent among low social classes.