Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2009;2(4):217-20.
doi: 10.1159/000226597. Epub 2009 Jul 9.

Prevalence of obesity in a Saudi obstetric population

Abdel-Hady El-Gilany  1 , Adel El-Wehady
Affiliations

Prevalence of obesity in a Saudi obstetric population

Abdel-Hady El-Gilany et al. Obes Facts. 2009.

Abstract

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of obesity and its determinants during the first month of gestation in Saudi women.

Methods: Retrospective chart review of measured BMI in Al-Hassa, the largest province in Saudi Arabia, in 2007. Data were collected from records of 791 (72.6% of 1,089) pregnant women registered for prenatal care.

Results: Height shows a normal Gaussian distribution, whereas weight is skewed positively (skewness of 0.77). The prevalence of underweight, normal weight, overweight, obesity, and extreme obesity (BMI > 40 kg/m(2)) were 8.5, 39.3, 23.6, 23.9, and 4.7%, respectively. Logistic regression revealed that the most important significant independent predictors of obesity are parity of 4 and more (odds ratio (OR) = 5.8) and urban residence (OR = 4.9).

Conclusion: Overweight, obesity, and extreme obesity are common (>52%) among pregnant women in Saudi Arabia. Health education to control body weight before pregnancy is warranted.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists The growing trends in maternal obesity. Press Release. 2006 October 5; www.rcog.org.uk/news/growing-trends-maternal-obesity.
    1. Minneapolis Department of Health and Family Support Risks of being overweight for women of reproductive age. Research Brief. 2008 Jan; www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/dhfs/reproductiveweight.pdf.
    1. Guelinckx I, Devlieger R, Beckers K, Vansant G. Maternal obesity: pregnancy complications, gestational weight gain and nutrition. Obes Rev. 2008;9:140–150. - PubMed
    1. Al-Nuaim AR. Population-based epidemiological study of the prevalence of overweight and obesity in Saudi Arabia, regional variation. Ann Saudi Med. 1997;17:195–199. - PubMed
    1. El-Hazmi MAF, Warsy AS. Prevalence of obesity in a Saudi population. Ann Saudi Med. 1997;17:302–306. - PubMed