Abstract
Background: The main objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of central obesity and some related
factors in the north of Iran (Golestan province) in 2006.
Method: This was a population –based cross-sectional study that comprised 2471 subjects (1250 males and
1221 female), using stratified cluster sampling. Interviewers recorded the data using the multidimensional questionnaire
and anthropometric indexes. Waist circumference ≥102 and ≥88 cm categorized as central obesity for
men and women respectively. SPSS 16.0 software was used for statistical analysis.
Results: The mean and standard deviation of age was 39.2±14.28 years and waist circumference was 87.1±13.7
cm in men and 90.2±15.8 cm in women, respectively. In total, the prevalence of central obesity was 32.01% and
it was significantly higher in women (57.2%) than in men (15.8%), in urban area (40.5%) than in rural areas
(31.9%) and in uneducated people (52.3%) than in college educated people
(19.9) (P=0.001). Logistic regression analysis revealed that central obesity was significantly associated with
age, urbanization, parity and illiteracy (P<0.05).
Conclusion: Central obesity was the most serious health problem in the north of Iran and it was more prevalent
in women than men. Socio-demographic factors such as younger age (between 15-25 and 25-35 years),
urbanization, marital status and illiteracy were associated with central obesity. Further studies are necessary to
establish the association between central obesity and racial differences in this area.
factors in the north of Iran (Golestan province) in 2006.
Method: This was a population –based cross-sectional study that comprised 2471 subjects (1250 males and
1221 female), using stratified cluster sampling. Interviewers recorded the data using the multidimensional questionnaire
and anthropometric indexes. Waist circumference ≥102 and ≥88 cm categorized as central obesity for
men and women respectively. SPSS 16.0 software was used for statistical analysis.
Results: The mean and standard deviation of age was 39.2±14.28 years and waist circumference was 87.1±13.7
cm in men and 90.2±15.8 cm in women, respectively. In total, the prevalence of central obesity was 32.01% and
it was significantly higher in women (57.2%) than in men (15.8%), in urban area (40.5%) than in rural areas
(31.9%) and in uneducated people (52.3%) than in college educated people
(19.9) (P=0.001). Logistic regression analysis revealed that central obesity was significantly associated with
age, urbanization, parity and illiteracy (P<0.05).
Conclusion: Central obesity was the most serious health problem in the north of Iran and it was more prevalent
in women than men. Socio-demographic factors such as younger age (between 15-25 and 25-35 years),
urbanization, marital status and illiteracy were associated with central obesity. Further studies are necessary to
establish the association between central obesity and racial differences in this area.
Keywords
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Copyright
© 2010, Author(s). This open-access article is available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which allows for unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided that the original work is properly cited.