Introduction:
World Health Organization (WHO) declared that obesity is a chronic
disease prevalent in both developed and developing countries,
and its impact is so diverse and extreme that it should now be
regarded as one of the greatest neglected public health problems
of our time with an impact on health which may will prove to be
as great as of smoking. Obesity is a complex multi-factorial chronic
disease that develops from an interaction of genotype and environment.
Our understanding of how and why obesity develops is incomplete,
but involves the integration of social, behavioral, cultural,
physiological, metabolic and genetic factors. The signs and symptoms
of obesity include an excess accumulation of adipose tissue and
from the pioneer studies like Framingham and Nurses Health Study;
it's known that, there is a 'U or J' shape relationship between
mortality and fat weight. While low body mass index (BMI) is associated
with high mortality rates principally from pulmonary and gastrointestinal
diseases, in contrast high BMI levels have an impact on high risk
of mortality from cardiovascular disease (CVD), diabetes mellitus
(DM), hypertension, dislipidemia, stroke, and cancer.
Both obesity prevalence and its epidemiological risk factors like
physical activity levels, smoking, and alcohol consumption are
not well studied in Turkish population. In two major studies;
TEKHARF (Turkish Adults Hearth Disease and Risk Factors Study)
and TURDEP (Turkish Diabetes Epidemiology Study) the obesity is
studied as an independent risk factor for CVD and DM nationwide. |
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In TURDEP study the obesity prevalence
(BMI>29.9 kg/m²) is found 22% while in TEKHARF study
it is found 21.1% among males and 43.0% in females.
According to the results of TURDEP study,
male subjects had mean BMI, waist hip ratio (WHR) and waist
circumference (WC) of 25.47±4.58 kg/m², 0.88±0.10,
90.03±13.86 cm and females had 27.45±5.76 kg/m²,
0.81±0.09, 87.20±14.61 cm respectively. In TEKHARF
study among male subjects mean BMI, WHR, WC are found 26.8±3.9
kg/m², 0.93±0.07, 91.8±10.6 cm and in females
29.2±5.3 kg/m², 0.86±0.70, 89.4±12.1
cm respectively. In TEKHARF study BMI was found as an independent
risk factor for CVD in men and the cardiovascular event risk
were found to be increasing 9% in every 1 kg/m² BMI increment.
Also in TURDEP study it was found that prevalence of DM and
impaired glucose tolerance increased with increment in BMI,
WHR or WC.
These results indicates the importance
of monitoring the obesity nationwide and in different regions
of the Turkey, because there is a great difference of the socio-economical
status between the populations who live in different parts of
the country. In this cross-sectional study carried out in Edirne,
Turkey it was aimed to find out the prevalence of obesity indicated
as BMI=30 kg/m², and to identify epidemiological risk factors.
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