G.h Veghari ,
Volume 3, Issue 1 (2 2005)
Abstract
Obesity is a major health and nutrition problem all over the world. This was a cross-sectional study and the sampling method was of the component type (cluster and simple sampling). 2854 women who had children under 5 years of age participated in this study. The data were recorded by 20 trained interviewers using a questionnaire. Subjects were weighed on scales and had their height, waist circumference, and hip circumference measured by a meter. Pregnant women were not included in this study. Economic status was categorized based on possession of 10 consumer items considered necessary for modern-day life (Low >=3, Moderate = 4-6 and Good = 7-10). Three ethnic groups were compared in this study: Fars (native), Turkmen, and Sistani.
The mean age was 28.2 y. Body Mass Index (BMI) in ranges of (25-29.9), (30-39.9) and (≥40) was observed in 28.3%, 15.9% and 0.5% of the subjects respectively. The frequency of BMI over 25 among Fars, Turkmen and Sistani mothers was 64.3%, 43.4%, and 32.9% respectively. The difference between the three groups was statistically significant (P<0.02). In 39.1% of these women, the Waist to Hip ratio (WHR) exceeded 0.8 and the index was higher in Turkmen women compared with other groups. The frequency in women with low, moderate and good economic status was 34.7%, 50.8% and 55.9% respectively, but these differences were not statistically significant. The prevalence of obesity in literate women is significantly higher than in illiterate women (p<0.04).
On the whole, this study indicates that obesity is a common health problem among women in the rural areas of Gorgan. There is a relationship between the prevalence of obesity and higher economic status. Therefore, educating women on optimal nutrition and changing their food habits would be very important.
