Obesity: prevalence and considerations in oral and maxillofacial surgery

This article examines the prevalence of obesity in an urban hospital-based office population and describes the associated health risks and systemic complications.

A total of 225 randomly selected patient charts were reviewed. The patients' height and weight were recorded, and a body mass index (BMI) was calculated. Patients were considered to have a normal weight with a BMI between 20 and 24.9 kg/m2, to be overweight with a BMI between 25 and 29.9 kg/m2, and to be obese with a BMI of 30 kg/m2 or greater. Comparisons between sex, age, and race were examined.

Eighty-five males and 140 females were included in the study. The ages ranged from 9 to 86 years, with a mean age of 37.4+/-16.4 years. The BMIs ranged from 13.9 to 57.7 kg/m2, with a mean BMI of 26.5+/-6.8 kg/m2. Over half (51%) of the population studied was overweight, and 23% were obese. Forty-three percent of males were considered overweight, and 18.8% of males were obese. Women tended to be more overweight: 55.7% of women were overweight and 25.7% were obese. The African-American females had mean BMIs that were considered overweight in all age-groups and obese in most age-groups, which included the less than 29-year-old and over 50-year-old groups. Caucasian females had normal mean BMIs at all ages except for the 30- to 39-year-old and 40- to 49-year-old groups.

The increasing prevalence of overweight and obese populations has several considerations in oral and maxillofacial surgery. The associated health risks and increased morbidity and mortality pose a serious threat to the patient being treated in an outpatient setting.