Prevalence and Factors Related Obesity in Individuals Who Applied to the Family Medicine Center: The Case of Artvin

Abstract

Aim: The study was planned to determine the prevalence of obesity and factors affecting obesity in individuals who applied to the Family Medicine Centers.

Method: A total of 1929 subjects, aged 20 and older, who applied to Family Medicine Centers in Artvin Province and Districts in the period January 2011 for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes and who agreed to participate in this descriptive study consitituted the sample population.

Results: Women constituted 51.1%'s of the sampling. 22.8% of the subjects were categorizied as obese, and 36.8% as overweight, while 34.1% displayed normal body mass index (BMI). In comparison of women and men, respectively, 35% and 34.1% were considered in normal weight ranges, whereas 55.3% and 63.9% were included in the obese group (mild overweight or obese). Generally, the ratio of the obese subjects was 59.6% across the sample group. The average age of the subjects and the number of main meals during the day were found positively correlated with BMI (p < 0.01).

Conclusion: Slightly more than half of the sample group was overweight or obese, obesity was more common among men compared to women, and elderly people, especially housewives or retired ones were determined at higher risk for obesity.