Overweight and Obesity among Palestinian Adults: Analyses of the Anthropometric Data from the First National Health and Nutrition Survey (1999-2000)

Background. A cross-sectional survey was designed to provide a baseline data on the prevalence and distribution of overweight and obesity and their associations among adults in Palestine. Methods. A random representative sample of 3617 adults aged 18–64 years was collected between October 1999 and O...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ziad Abdeen, Christine Jildeh, Sahar Dkeideek, Radwan Qasrawi, Ibrahim Ghannam, Haleama Al Sabbah
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2012-01-01
Series:Journal of Obesity
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/213547
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849467712278888448
author Ziad Abdeen
Christine Jildeh
Sahar Dkeideek
Radwan Qasrawi
Ibrahim Ghannam
Haleama Al Sabbah
author_facet Ziad Abdeen
Christine Jildeh
Sahar Dkeideek
Radwan Qasrawi
Ibrahim Ghannam
Haleama Al Sabbah
author_sort Ziad Abdeen
collection DOAJ
description Background. A cross-sectional survey was designed to provide a baseline data on the prevalence and distribution of overweight and obesity and their associations among adults in Palestine. Methods. A random representative sample of 3617 adults aged 18–64 years was collected between October 1999 and October 2000. Results. The prevalence of overweight was 35.5% in women and 40.3% in men, obesity was 31.5% in women and 17.5% in men. Adults aged 45–54 years old were significantly more likely to be obese (29.2% in men and 50.2% in women) or overweight (48.1% in men and 37.2% in women). When compared with women, men showed significantly more normal BMI level (40.5% versus 31.6%; P<0.05). Cut-off points for a high waist circumference and high waist-to-hip ratio identified 57.8% and 47.2% of the population, respectively, to be at an increased and high risk for cardiovascular disease. Sociodemographic factors (age, sex, educational level, and marital status) were also found to be significantly related to BMI. Conclusion. Obesity and overweight are enormous public health problems in Palestine. Population-based research at the national level to investigate the social and cultural factors associated with high prevalence of overweight and obesity among Palestinian adults should be implemented.
format Article
id doaj-art-dd9c78336a1c4e3d8e78e49b97c2537f
institution Kabale University
issn 2090-0708
2090-0716
language English
publishDate 2012-01-01
publisher Wiley
record_format Article
series Journal of Obesity
spelling doaj-art-dd9c78336a1c4e3d8e78e49b97c2537f2025-08-20T03:26:05ZengWileyJournal of Obesity2090-07082090-07162012-01-01201210.1155/2012/213547213547Overweight and Obesity among Palestinian Adults: Analyses of the Anthropometric Data from the First National Health and Nutrition Survey (1999-2000)Ziad Abdeen0Christine Jildeh1Sahar Dkeideek2Radwan Qasrawi3Ibrahim Ghannam4Haleama Al Sabbah5Al-Quds Nutrition and Health Research Institute, Al-Quds University, Jerusalem 20760, PalestineDepartment of Social Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Crete, P.O. Box 2208, 71003 Iraklion, Crete, GreeceAl-Quds Nutrition and Health Research Institute, Al-Quds University, Jerusalem 20760, PalestineAl-Quds Nutrition and Health Research Institute, Al-Quds University, Jerusalem 20760, PalestineAl-Quds Nutrition and Health Research Institute, Al-Quds University, Jerusalem 20760, PalestineJean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Centre, Tufts University, 711 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02111, USABackground. A cross-sectional survey was designed to provide a baseline data on the prevalence and distribution of overweight and obesity and their associations among adults in Palestine. Methods. A random representative sample of 3617 adults aged 18–64 years was collected between October 1999 and October 2000. Results. The prevalence of overweight was 35.5% in women and 40.3% in men, obesity was 31.5% in women and 17.5% in men. Adults aged 45–54 years old were significantly more likely to be obese (29.2% in men and 50.2% in women) or overweight (48.1% in men and 37.2% in women). When compared with women, men showed significantly more normal BMI level (40.5% versus 31.6%; P<0.05). Cut-off points for a high waist circumference and high waist-to-hip ratio identified 57.8% and 47.2% of the population, respectively, to be at an increased and high risk for cardiovascular disease. Sociodemographic factors (age, sex, educational level, and marital status) were also found to be significantly related to BMI. Conclusion. Obesity and overweight are enormous public health problems in Palestine. Population-based research at the national level to investigate the social and cultural factors associated with high prevalence of overweight and obesity among Palestinian adults should be implemented.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/213547
spellingShingle Ziad Abdeen
Christine Jildeh
Sahar Dkeideek
Radwan Qasrawi
Ibrahim Ghannam
Haleama Al Sabbah
Overweight and Obesity among Palestinian Adults: Analyses of the Anthropometric Data from the First National Health and Nutrition Survey (1999-2000)
Journal of Obesity
title Overweight and Obesity among Palestinian Adults: Analyses of the Anthropometric Data from the First National Health and Nutrition Survey (1999-2000)
title_full Overweight and Obesity among Palestinian Adults: Analyses of the Anthropometric Data from the First National Health and Nutrition Survey (1999-2000)
title_fullStr Overweight and Obesity among Palestinian Adults: Analyses of the Anthropometric Data from the First National Health and Nutrition Survey (1999-2000)
title_full_unstemmed Overweight and Obesity among Palestinian Adults: Analyses of the Anthropometric Data from the First National Health and Nutrition Survey (1999-2000)
title_short Overweight and Obesity among Palestinian Adults: Analyses of the Anthropometric Data from the First National Health and Nutrition Survey (1999-2000)
title_sort overweight and obesity among palestinian adults analyses of the anthropometric data from the first national health and nutrition survey 1999 2000
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/213547
work_keys_str_mv AT ziadabdeen overweightandobesityamongpalestinianadultsanalysesoftheanthropometricdatafromthefirstnationalhealthandnutritionsurvey19992000
AT christinejildeh overweightandobesityamongpalestinianadultsanalysesoftheanthropometricdatafromthefirstnationalhealthandnutritionsurvey19992000
AT sahardkeideek overweightandobesityamongpalestinianadultsanalysesoftheanthropometricdatafromthefirstnationalhealthandnutritionsurvey19992000
AT radwanqasrawi overweightandobesityamongpalestinianadultsanalysesoftheanthropometricdatafromthefirstnationalhealthandnutritionsurvey19992000
AT ibrahimghannam overweightandobesityamongpalestinianadultsanalysesoftheanthropometricdatafromthefirstnationalhealthandnutritionsurvey19992000
AT haleamaalsabbah overweightandobesityamongpalestinianadultsanalysesoftheanthropometricdatafromthefirstnationalhealthandnutritionsurvey19992000