Are Kuwaitis Getting Fatter?

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to compare temporal changes in BMI, overweight (BMI >25 Kg/m2) and obesity) and obesity (BMI >30 Kg/m2) of two independent cross-sectional samples of Kuwaitis studied in 1980–81 and 1993–94. The earlier sample of 2067 (896 men and 1171 women) and the latter sample of 3435 (1730 men and 1705 women) adult Kuwaitis (aged ≥18 years), were drawn from primary health care (PHC) clinics and studied for nutritional assessment and for prevalence of obesity in 1980–81 and 1993–94, respectively. Weight was measured in kilograms and height in meters to obtain the body mass index (BMI), which is the weight in kilograms divided by the height in meters squared (Kg/m2). BMI >25 and >30 Kg/m2 were classified as overweight and obesity, respectively. The results of the study show that mean BMI (Kg/m2) increased significantly (p < 0.001) by 10.0 and 6.2% (2.5 and 1.7 Kg/m2) among men and women, respectively. Prevalence of overweight and obesity (BMI >25 and >30 Kg/m2) increased by 20.6 and 15.4% and by 13.7 and 8.4% among men and women, respectively. After controlling for sociodemographic differences between the two study periods, mean BMI was 2.0 and 1.6 Kg/m2 higher in 1993–94 than in 1980–81 among men and women, respectively. Prevalence of overweight and obesity (BMI >25 and >30 Kg/m2) also increased among both genders between the two periods (OR=2.1, 95% CI 1.7–2.7 and OR = 1.9, 95% CI 1.5–2.4, for men and OR=2.2, 95% CI 1.6–3.0 and OR = 1.4, 95% CI 2.2 CI 1.0–1.9, for women). It can be concluded that the BMI, prevalence of overweight and obesity increased among Kuwaitis between 1980–81 and 1993–94, probably due to the effects of modernization, affluence, increased food consumption and the concomitant changes to sedentary lifestyles. The rate of temporal changes in BMI and obesity were higher, by comparison, in Kuwait than in selected other countries.