Association of body mass index and abdominal obesity with marital status in adults

Obesity continues to be an important public health problem worldwide. The objective of this study was to determine the association of body mass index and abdominal obesity with current marital status among the adult population of Iran.

A nation-wide cross-sectional survey was conducted from December 2004 through February 2005.The subjects were selected by stratified probability cluster sampling through household family members in Iran. Weight, height, waist circumference, and marital status of 89,404 men and women aged 15 - 65 (mean: 39.2) years were recorded. Four classes of body mass index, i.e., <18.5, 18.5 - 24.9, 25 - 29.9, and > or =30 kg/cm2, and three marital status, i.e., currently-, formerly-, and never-married were used. Abdominal obesity was defined as waist circumference > or =102 cm in men and > or =88 cm in women.

The prevalence of overweight was twofold higher in married men (OR: 2.24; 95% CI: 2.08 - 2.41) and women (OR: 2.36; 95% CI: 2.20 - 2.53) than never-married men and women, even when age, educational level, leisure time physical activity, smoking habits, and place of residence were controlled. The multivariate OR of obesity was increased about threefold in married men (2.82; 95% CI: 2.51 - 3.18) and women (3.64; 95% CI: 3.31 - 3.99). The prevalence of abdominal obesity was twofold higher among married men (2.02; 95% CI: 1.79 - 2.29) and about threefold higher among married women (2.87; 95% CI: 2.69 - 3.06).

The marital status appears to influence the likelihood of developing overweight, obesity, and abdominal obesity in both men and women in Iran.