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
. 2018 May;63(Suppl 1):165-176.
doi: 10.1007/s00038-017-1002-5. Epub 2017 Aug 3.

Burden of obesity in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: findings from the Global Burden of Disease 2015 study

GBD 2015 Eastern Mediterranean Region Obesity Collaborators
Collaborators

Burden of obesity in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: findings from the Global Burden of Disease 2015 study

GBD 2015 Eastern Mediterranean Region Obesity Collaborators. Int J Public Health. 2018 May.

Abstract

Objectives: We used the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2015 study results to explore the burden of high body mass index (BMI) in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR).

Methods: We estimated the prevalence of overweight and obesity among children (2-19 years) and adults (≥20 years) in 1980 and 2015. The burden of disease related to high BMI was calculated using the GBD comparative risk assessment approach.

Results: The prevalence of obesity increased for adults from 15.1% (95% UI 13.4-16.9) in 1980 to 20.7% (95% UI 18.8-22.8) in 2015. It increased from 4.1% (95% UI 2.9-5.5) to 4.9% (95% UI 3.6-6.4) for the same period among children. In 2015, there were 417,115 deaths and 14,448,548 disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) attributable to high BMI in EMR, which constitute about 10 and 6.3% of total deaths and DALYs, respectively, for all ages.

Conclusions: This is the first study to estimate trends in obesity burden for the EMR from 1980 to 2015. We call for EMR countries to invest more resources in prevention and health promotion efforts to reduce this burden.

Keywords: Burden of disease; Eastern Mediterranean Region; Obesity.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

This manuscript reflects original work that has not previously been published in whole or in part and is not under consideration elsewhere. All authors have read the manuscript and have agreed that the work is ready for submission and accept responsibility for its contents. The authors of this paper have complied with all ethical standards and do not have any conflicts of interest to disclose at the time of submission. The funding source played no role in the design of the study, the analysis and interpretation of data, and the writing of the paper. The study did not involve human participants and/or animals; therefore, no informed consent was needed.

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest at this time.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Prevalence of obesity among adults aged 20 years or older and children aged 2–19 years in 1980 and 2015 (Global Burden of Disease 2015 study, Eastern Mediterranean Countries, 1980 and 2015)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Abou Abbas L, Salameh P, Nasser W, et al. Obesity and symptoms of depression among adults in selected countries of the Middle East: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Clin Obes. 2015;5:2–11. doi: 10.1111/cob.12082. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Al-Rafaee SA, Al-Hazzaa HM. Physical activity profile of adult males in Riyadh city. Saudi Med J. 2001;22:784–789. - PubMed
    1. Asfaw A. Do government food price policies affect the prevalence of obesity? Empirical evidence from Egypt. World Dev. 2007;35:687–701. doi: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2006.05.005. - DOI
    1. Broyles ST, Denstel KD, Church TS, et al. The epidemiological transition and the global childhood obesity epidemic. Int J Obes Suppl. 2015;5:S3–S8. doi: 10.1038/ijosup.2015.12. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Charchuk R, Houston S, Hawkes MT. Elevated prevalence of malnutrition and malaria among school-aged children and adolescents in war-ravaged South Sudan. Pathog Glob Health. 2015;109:395–400. doi: 10.1080/20477724.2015.1126033. - DOI - PMC - PubMed