Overweight and obesity in the Arabian Peninsula: an overview

Obesity greatly increases the risks of developing diseases, including diabetes mellitus, hypertension, dyslipidaemia, coronary artery disease, and some cancers. At least one-third of Arabs are obese, as defined by body mass index (BMI) more than 30 kg/m2 and this figure is rising steadily despite increased interest in fitness. Women have particularly high rates of obesity. Obesity is clearly associated with increased risk for mortality, but there has been controversy regarding optimal weight with respect to mortality risk. A review of recent studies on the prevalence of obesity among population of the Arabian Peninsula and the evaluation of the health risk of obesity is presented in this paper. The prevalence of obesity ranges between 16-25% in men and 17-43% in women. The most prevalent chronic diseases related to obesity in these populations are diabetes, hypertension and coronary heart disease (CHD).