Background & Objective: Obesity is a public health problem in modern societies which is more prevalent among women compared to men. This study was conducted to aim the prevalence of obesity and the related factors in women of Kermanshah.
Materials and Methods: In the present cross-sectional study, 687 women aging 25-65 years were enrolled using multi staged cluster sampling method from 6 regions of Kermanshah city. Data collection tools were a demographic questionnaire, Food Frequency (FFQ) and physical activity questionnaires. General Obesity was defined as BMI≥30 kg/m2 and abdominal obesity was defined as waste hip ratio (WHR) over 0.85cm. All data were analyzed using correlation coefficient, Logistic regression-test and x2 by SPSS software.
Results: Overweight and obesity was observed in 39.4% and 21.9 % of women respectively. 57.5% of studied subjects suffered from abdominal obesity. The odds ratios for obesity among illiterate (OR=1.882, P=0.05), low socioeconomic status (OR=1.867, P=0.002), and having more than four pregnancies (OR=1.875, P=0.01) were higher than other women. Odds ratio of fatty liver (OR: 3.818) and diabetes (OR: 3.077) was higher among obese subjects than normal individuals. (P=0.02).There was a positive correlation between obesity and marital status, number of pregnancies, family population size and unhealthy dietary habits (P<0.001). Moreover, there was a negative relationship between obesity and education level, employment and high socioeconomic status (P<0.001).
Conclusions: Regarding the side effects of obesity and overweight, lifestyle modification and increasing nutritional knowledge among women using appropriate methods is highly recommended.
