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
. 2023 Jan 24;13(1):e062053.
doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-062053.

Prevalence and associated risk factors of overweight and obesity among adult population in Dubai: a population-based cross-sectional survey in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates

Heba Mamdouh  1   2 , Hamid Y Hussain  1 , Gamal M Ibrahim  1   3 , Fatheya Alawadi  4   5 , Mohamed Hassanein  4   5 , Amer Al Zarooni  5 , Hanan Al Suwaidi  5 , Amar Hassan  6 , Alawi Alsheikh-Ali  5   7 , Wafa Khamis Alnakhi  8   9
Affiliations

Prevalence and associated risk factors of overweight and obesity among adult population in Dubai: a population-based cross-sectional survey in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates

Heba Mamdouh et al. BMJ Open. .

Abstract

Objective: To study the prevalence of overweight and obesity and determine the associated risk factors among adults in Dubai.

Design and setting: A cross-sectional survey with a multistage, stratified random sampling design was conducted in the Emirate of Dubai in 2019.

Participants: The study included 2142 adults aged 18+ years in the Emirate of Dubai.

Results: The overall prevalence of obesity, which was defined as body mass index (BMI) ≥30 kg/m2, was 17.8%. The highest obesity rates were reported among women (21.6%) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)-nationals (39.6%). Moreover, 39.8% of the population was overweight (BMI ≥25-29.9 kg/m2). Multivariate logistic regression showed associations between obesity and age, sex, nationality, hypertension and occupation. Obesity increases with age, with the highest risk at age group 50-59 years (OR 4.30; 95% CI 1.57 to 11.78) compared with the reference group (18-24 years). Females had a higher risk of obesity than males (OR 1.62; 95% CI 1.10 to 2.38). Compared with those in the reference group (Western and others), UAE nationals, other Arabs and Asians were more likely to be obese ((OR 2.08; 95% CI 1.18 to 3.67), (OR 3.61; 95% CI 2.41 to 5.44) and (OR 1.98; 95% CI 1.12 to 3.50), respectively). Clerical and service workers (OR 4.50; 95% CI 2.54 to 8.00) and elementary and unskilled occupation categories (OR 2.57; 95% CI 1.56 to 4.25) had higher risks of obesity than the reference group (professionals), p<0.01). Hypertensive individuals had a higher risk of obesity than normotensive individuals (OR=3.96; p<0.01).

Conclusions: Obesity and overweight are highly prevalent among adults in Dubai and are remarkably associated with sociodemographic and behavioural risk factors. Comprehensive strategic initiatives are urgently needed to control obesity in the high-risk populations in the Emirate of Dubai.

Keywords: Health & safety; Health policy; PUBLIC HEALTH; Quality in health care.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Distribution of body mass index categories among the adult population in Dubai.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Distribution of age groups by body mass index categories and sex (%).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. WHO . Obesity and overweight fact sheet. Geneva: WHO; 2016. Available: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and-overweight#...
    1. Pi-Sunyer FX. The obesity epidemic: pathophysiology and consequences of obesity. Obes Res 2002;10 Suppl 2:97S–104S. 10.1038/oby.2002.202 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Mitchell NS, Catenacci VA, Wyatt HR, et al. Obesity: overview of an epidemic. Psychiatr Clin North Am 2011;34:717–32. 10.1016/j.psc.2011.08.005 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Roberto CA, Swinburn B, Hawkes C, et al. Patchy progress on obesity prevention: emerging examples, entrenched barriers, and new thinking. Lancet 2015;385:2400–9. 10.1016/S0140-6736(14)61744-X - DOI - PubMed
    1. Abarca-Gómez L, Abdeen ZA, Hamid ZA, et al. Worldwide trends in body-mass index, underweight, overweight, and obesity from 1975 to 2016: a pooled analysis of 2416 population-based measurement studies in 128·9 million children, adolescents, and adults. Lancet 2017;390:2627–42. 10.1016/S0140-6736(17)32129-3 - DOI - PMC - PubMed