Prevalence and functional correlates of obesity in an Egyptian village

Abstract

The objective of this analysis was to investigate obesity and its correlates in 147 men and 286 women 15 to 74 years from the Egyptian project of the Nutrition Collaborative Research Support Program (CRSP). According to National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS, 1983) standards for body mass index (BMI), nearly twice the proportion of women (25.1 and 10.1%) were overweight or obese compared to men (12.9 and 6.8%), using body mass index (BMI). Although not for men, women reporting heart disease or diabetes had higher BMI and were older. High maternal pre‐pregnant BMI was also related to adverse pregnancy outcome, i.e., multiple births and complicated deliveries, and higher infant birthweights. Given that the likelihood of a lighter weight infant was greater for leaner women and that women regardless of their pre‐pregnancy weight had low pregnancy weight gains, one could suggest that women in this community are vulnerable to the risks of low pregnancy weight gains and that high pre‐pregnancy relative weight provides a buffer for the protection of fetal growth. However, it would be prudent to anticipate the concomitant increase in prevalence of obesity‐related morbidity as these individuals age.