RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Prevalence of obesity among military personnel in Saudi Arabia and associated risk factors
JF Saudi Medical Journal
JO Saudi Med J
FD Prince Sultan Military Medical City
SP 401
OP 407
VO 34
IS 4
A1 Ghalib Bin Horaib
A1 Hesham I. Al-Khashan
A1 Adel M. Mishriky
A1 Mohei A. Selim
A1 Noura AlNowaiser
A1 Abdulaziz A. BinSaeed
A1 Ahmed D. Alawad
A1 Abdulrahman K. Al-Asmari
A1 Khalid AlQumaizi
YR 2013
UL http://smj.org.sa/content/34/4/401.abstract
AB 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.