Prevalence and factors associated with weight loss medicine usage in the Hail population, Saudi Arabia

BACKGROUND AND AIM: The rising prevalence of obesity in Saudi Arabia is alarming, with studies indicating that over 35% of the adult population is classified as obese. This study determines the prevalence and associated risk factors associated with weight loss medicine usage in the Hail papulation,...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Mubashir Zafar, Abdullah A. Albrahimi, Naif M. S. Alanezi, Alshaymaa A. SayedAlameen, Leen H. Alshammari, Farah N. H. Alsuwayt, Wasayf M. S. Alshammari, Syed Shah Mohammed Faiyaz
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2025-05-01
Series:Journal of Education and Health Promotion
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/jehp.jehp_24_25
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849696905540403200
author Mubashir Zafar
Abdullah A. Albrahimi
Naif M. S. Alanezi
Alshaymaa A. SayedAlameen
Leen H. Alshammari
Farah N. H. Alsuwayt
Wasayf M. S. Alshammari
Syed Shah Mohammed Faiyaz
author_facet Mubashir Zafar
Abdullah A. Albrahimi
Naif M. S. Alanezi
Alshaymaa A. SayedAlameen
Leen H. Alshammari
Farah N. H. Alsuwayt
Wasayf M. S. Alshammari
Syed Shah Mohammed Faiyaz
author_sort Mubashir Zafar
collection DOAJ
description BACKGROUND AND AIM: The rising prevalence of obesity in Saudi Arabia is alarming, with studies indicating that over 35% of the adult population is classified as obese. This study determines the prevalence and associated risk factors associated with weight loss medicine usage in the Hail papulation, Saudi Arabia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study, which was conducted in King Salman Hospital, Hail. A total of 463 participants were recruited in the study through simple random sampling. A validated and structured questionnaire was used. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with weight loss medicine usage and awareness. P value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: The prevalence of anti-obesity drug use was 29.2%, with higher use found among never smokers (82.2%) and those with a body mass index (BMI) of 24.9–29.9 kg/m2 (69.6%). Most anti-obesity drugs used were sold over the counter (46.71%) or prescribed by doctors (35.1%). The factors significantly associated with anti-obesity drug use included being in the 31–60 age group (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 1.87, P value 0.004), having primary education (AOR 2.90, P value 0.045), and having no past medical or surgical history (AOR 2.76, P value 0.000). Among all participants, 54% were believed that affordability is important to used anti-obesity. CONCLUSION: The study highlights a relatively high prevalence of anti-obesity drug use, particularly among individuals with a BMI in the overweight range. Socio-demographic factors such as age, education, and health history influence the use of these medications. Interventions targeting affordability and promoting natural weight management methods may be important in addressing obesity treatment approaches.
format Article
id doaj-art-fae98c802616421b96a9ab3ce0727257
institution DOAJ
issn 2277-9531
2319-6440
language English
publishDate 2025-05-01
publisher Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications
record_format Article
series Journal of Education and Health Promotion
spelling doaj-art-fae98c802616421b96a9ab3ce07272572025-08-20T03:19:19ZengWolters Kluwer Medknow PublicationsJournal of Education and Health Promotion2277-95312319-64402025-05-0114122322310.4103/jehp.jehp_24_25Prevalence and factors associated with weight loss medicine usage in the Hail population, Saudi ArabiaMubashir ZafarAbdullah A. AlbrahimiNaif M. S. AlaneziAlshaymaa A. SayedAlameenLeen H. AlshammariFarah N. H. AlsuwaytWasayf M. S. AlshammariSyed Shah Mohammed FaiyazBACKGROUND AND AIM: The rising prevalence of obesity in Saudi Arabia is alarming, with studies indicating that over 35% of the adult population is classified as obese. This study determines the prevalence and associated risk factors associated with weight loss medicine usage in the Hail papulation, Saudi Arabia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study, which was conducted in King Salman Hospital, Hail. A total of 463 participants were recruited in the study through simple random sampling. A validated and structured questionnaire was used. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with weight loss medicine usage and awareness. P value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: The prevalence of anti-obesity drug use was 29.2%, with higher use found among never smokers (82.2%) and those with a body mass index (BMI) of 24.9–29.9 kg/m2 (69.6%). Most anti-obesity drugs used were sold over the counter (46.71%) or prescribed by doctors (35.1%). The factors significantly associated with anti-obesity drug use included being in the 31–60 age group (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 1.87, P value 0.004), having primary education (AOR 2.90, P value 0.045), and having no past medical or surgical history (AOR 2.76, P value 0.000). Among all participants, 54% were believed that affordability is important to used anti-obesity. CONCLUSION: The study highlights a relatively high prevalence of anti-obesity drug use, particularly among individuals with a BMI in the overweight range. Socio-demographic factors such as age, education, and health history influence the use of these medications. Interventions targeting affordability and promoting natural weight management methods may be important in addressing obesity treatment approaches.https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/jehp.jehp_24_25demographic factorshealth behaviorsobesity managementpharmacological treatmentprevalencesocioeconomic factorsweight loss interventionsweight loss medicine
spellingShingle Mubashir Zafar
Abdullah A. Albrahimi
Naif M. S. Alanezi
Alshaymaa A. SayedAlameen
Leen H. Alshammari
Farah N. H. Alsuwayt
Wasayf M. S. Alshammari
Syed Shah Mohammed Faiyaz
Prevalence and factors associated with weight loss medicine usage in the Hail population, Saudi Arabia
Journal of Education and Health Promotion
demographic factors
health behaviors
obesity management
pharmacological treatment
prevalence
socioeconomic factors
weight loss interventions
weight loss medicine
title Prevalence and factors associated with weight loss medicine usage in the Hail population, Saudi Arabia
title_full Prevalence and factors associated with weight loss medicine usage in the Hail population, Saudi Arabia
title_fullStr Prevalence and factors associated with weight loss medicine usage in the Hail population, Saudi Arabia
title_full_unstemmed Prevalence and factors associated with weight loss medicine usage in the Hail population, Saudi Arabia
title_short Prevalence and factors associated with weight loss medicine usage in the Hail population, Saudi Arabia
title_sort prevalence and factors associated with weight loss medicine usage in the hail population saudi arabia
topic demographic factors
health behaviors
obesity management
pharmacological treatment
prevalence
socioeconomic factors
weight loss interventions
weight loss medicine
url https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/jehp.jehp_24_25
work_keys_str_mv AT mubashirzafar prevalenceandfactorsassociatedwithweightlossmedicineusageinthehailpopulationsaudiarabia
AT abdullahaalbrahimi prevalenceandfactorsassociatedwithweightlossmedicineusageinthehailpopulationsaudiarabia
AT naifmsalanezi prevalenceandfactorsassociatedwithweightlossmedicineusageinthehailpopulationsaudiarabia
AT alshaymaaasayedalameen prevalenceandfactorsassociatedwithweightlossmedicineusageinthehailpopulationsaudiarabia
AT leenhalshammari prevalenceandfactorsassociatedwithweightlossmedicineusageinthehailpopulationsaudiarabia
AT farahnhalsuwayt prevalenceandfactorsassociatedwithweightlossmedicineusageinthehailpopulationsaudiarabia
AT wasayfmsalshammari prevalenceandfactorsassociatedwithweightlossmedicineusageinthehailpopulationsaudiarabia
AT syedshahmohammedfaiyaz prevalenceandfactorsassociatedwithweightlossmedicineusageinthehailpopulationsaudiarabia