Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
  • Content
    • Latest
    • Archive
    • home
  • Info for
    • Authors
    • Reviewers
    • Subscribers
    • Institutions
    • Advertisers
    • Join SMJ
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Editorial Office
    • Editorial Board
  • More
    • Advertising
    • Alerts
    • Feedback
    • Folders
    • Help
  • Other Publications
    • NeuroSciences Journal

User menu

  • My alerts
  • Log in

Search

  • Advanced search
Saudi Medical Journal
  • Other Publications
    • NeuroSciences Journal
  • My alerts
  • Log in
Saudi Medical Journal

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Content
    • Latest
    • Archive
    • home
  • Info for
    • Authors
    • Reviewers
    • Subscribers
    • Institutions
    • Advertisers
    • Join SMJ
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Editorial Office
    • Editorial Board
  • More
    • Advertising
    • Alerts
    • Feedback
    • Folders
    • Help
  • Follow psmmc on Twitter
  • Visit psmmc on Facebook
  • RSS
Research ArticleOriginal Article
Open Access

Prevalence of obesity among military personnel in Saudi Arabia and associated risk factors

Ghalib Bin Horaib, Hesham I. Al-Khashan, Adel M. Mishriky, Mohei A. Selim, Noura AlNowaiser, Abdulaziz A. BinSaeed, Ahmed D. Alawad, Abdulrahman K. Al-Asmari and Khalid AlQumaizi
Saudi Medical Journal April 2013, 34 (4) 401-407;
Ghalib Bin Horaib
Medical Services Department, Ministry of Defence, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Hesham I. Al-Khashan
Medical Services Department, Ministry of Defence, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Adel M. Mishriky
Medical Services Department, Ministry of Defence, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Mohei A. Selim
Medical Services Department, Ministry of Defence, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Noura AlNowaiser
Medical Services Department, Ministry of Defence, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Abdulaziz A. BinSaeed
Medical Services Department, Ministry of Defence, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Ahmed D. Alawad
Medical Services Department, Ministry of Defence, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Abdulrahman K. Al-Asmari
Medical Services Department, Ministry of Defence, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Khalid AlQumaizi
Medical Services Department, Ministry of Defence, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • eLetters
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF
Loading

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To measure the prevalence of obesity among military personnel in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), and to identify its risk factors.

METHODS: This nationwide cross-sectional study covered all 5 military regions of KSA. It included a multistage stratified random sample of 10,500 active military personnel. The World Health Organization STEP wise approach to chronic disease risk factor surveillance (STEPS) was used in the design of the data collection tool. The project lasted from January 2009 to February 2011.

RESULTS: The response rate was 97.4%; 40.9% of the participants were overweight, 29% obese, and 42.4% had central obesity. Multivariate analysis revealed age, education years, and family history of diabetes or hypertension as statistically significant positive predictors of body mass index, while higher military rank, smoking, eating fruits more than twice per week, and heavy physical activities were negative predictors.

CONCLUSION: Obesity is a major health problem among military personnel in this survey especially among soldiers, and is associated with unhealthy dietary and physical activity habits. Prompt action must be taken by the military medical services department in terms of intervention programs primarily directed to soldiers and overweight personnel to control obesity and mitigate its consequences. Review of the anthropometric standards for recruitment, continuation, and promotion in military service is recommended.

  • Copyright: © Saudi Medical Journal

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial License (CC BY-NC), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

PreviousNext
Back to top

In this issue

Saudi Medical Journal: 34 (4)
Saudi Medical Journal
Vol. 34, Issue 4
1 Apr 2013
  • Table of Contents
  • Table of Contents (PDF)
  • Cover (PDF)
  • Index by author
Download PDF
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on Saudi Medical Journal.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Prevalence of obesity among military personnel in Saudi Arabia and associated risk factors
(Your Name) has sent you a message from Saudi Medical Journal
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the Saudi Medical Journal web site.
Citation Tools
Prevalence of obesity among military personnel in Saudi Arabia and associated risk factors
Ghalib Bin Horaib, Hesham I. Al-Khashan, Adel M. Mishriky, Mohei A. Selim, Noura AlNowaiser, Abdulaziz A. BinSaeed, Ahmed D. Alawad, Abdulrahman K. Al-Asmari, Khalid AlQumaizi
Saudi Medical Journal Apr 2013, 34 (4) 401-407;

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Share
Prevalence of obesity among military personnel in Saudi Arabia and associated risk factors
Ghalib Bin Horaib, Hesham I. Al-Khashan, Adel M. Mishriky, Mohei A. Selim, Noura AlNowaiser, Abdulaziz A. BinSaeed, Ahmed D. Alawad, Abdulrahman K. Al-Asmari, Khalid AlQumaizi
Saudi Medical Journal Apr 2013, 34 (4) 401-407;
Twitter logo Facebook logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One
Bookmark this article

Jump to section

  • Article
  • eLetters
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF

Related Articles

  • No related articles found.
  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • No citing articles found.
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

  • Longitudinal analysis of foodborne disease outbreaks in Saudi Arabia
  • Psychological stress and its association with bronchial asthma in Saudi Arabia
  • The factors affecting comfort and the comfort levels of patients hospitalized in the coronary intensive care unit
Show more Original Article

Similar Articles

CONTENT

  • home

JOURNAL

  • home

AUTHORS

  • home
Saudi Medical Journal

© 2025 Saudi Medical Journal Saudi Medical Journal is copyright under the Berne Convention and the International Copyright Convention.  Saudi Medical Journal is an Open Access journal and articles published are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (CC BY-NC). Readers may copy, distribute, and display the work for non-commercial purposes with the proper citation of the original work. Electronic ISSN 1658-3175. Print ISSN 0379-5284.

Powered by HighWire