High Frequency of Overweight and Obesity in Saudi Community. A Cross Section, Single Centre Study

Khalid S. Aljabri^1*, Samia A. Bokhari², Nawaf K. Aljabri³ & Bandari K. Aljabri⁴

¹Department of Medicine, Dr. Sulaiman Alhabib, AlKhobar, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
²Department of Endocrinology, King Fahad Armed Forces Hospital, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
³Department of Laboratory, King Fahad Armed Forces Hospital, Jeddah , Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
⁴College of Medicine, Um Al Qura University, Makkah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Dr. Khalid S. Aljabri, Department of Medicine, Dr. Sulaiman Alhabib, AlKhobar, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Keywords: Obesity; BMI; Overweight

Abstract

Objective
The problem of obesity extends globally. We designed this study to determine the frequency of overweight and obesity among Saudis.
Methods
Cross section study for patients older than 12 years old at the department of endocrinology at King Fahad Armed Forces Hospital between January 2018 to December 2019.
Results
We included 4920 patients. There were 1486 (30.2%) male and 3434 (69.8%) female. There was an increase in the body mass index (BMI) with age in both gender, up to the age of 59 years, with a decrease occurring thereafter. BMI was lower in males below 20 years of age. BMI in females older than 50 years old was higher than in males of corresponding ages. There was a statistically significant correlation between age and BMI (r=0.2, P< 0.0001).

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