Prevalence of obesity and overweight and their related factors among the adults of Mazandaran Province, Iran, in 2010

BACKGROUND Obesity is an unpleasant outcome of changes in the behavior and lifestyle, and it leads to premature inability and loss of job in most cases. This study aimed at determining the prevalence of obesity and overweight conditions and some related factors among the adults in Mazandaran Province, Iran. METHODS This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2010. The data collection tool was a standard questionnaire provided by the World Health organization (WHO).The sample of this study was selected from all people in the age range of 15 to 64 who lived in the urban and rural areas of Mazandaran Province. The researchers studied 1000 people (500 males and 500 females). The data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, chi-squared, linear regression, and Logistic regression in SPSS version 16 software. RESULTS The average and the standard deviation of Body Mass Index (BMI) of the participants was 27.36±6.04 (25.76±4.5 for males and 28.95±6.9 for females), and the average prevalence of overweight was 34% (males: 35.8%, females: 32.2%); the average incidence of obesity was 28.4% (males: 17.8%, females: 39%).It was found that age groups of 35-44 (OR: 3.1, CI: 95%: 1.7-5.8), 45-54 (OR: 3.1, CI: 95%: 1.7-5.8), and 55-64 (OR: 4.02, CI: 95%: 2.1-7.5) and being a housewife (OR: 2.3, 95% CI: 1.03-5.1) were predictive of BMI values equal to or greater than 30. CONCLUSION The results of this study showed that the prevalence of overweight and obesity was significant among people of Mazandaran Province. Therefore, it is recommended that educational-research centers and health authorities look for appropriate strategies to reduce the prevalence of this problem.