Risk Factors of Obesity in the Adult Population of Pakistan

Abstract

Objective: This study was conducted to find the prevalence of obesity in Pakistan and establish the link to know
associated risk factors of obesity within the obese population.
Study Design: Cross-sectional study.
Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out in the Functional Genomics Laboratory at the
Department of Biosciences, COMSATS University, Islamabad, Pakistan from November 2017 to December
2021.
Methods: A survey of 1061 individuals (55.97% males and 44.03% females) was conducted which was a
national representation of the Pakistani population. The data variables were presented as numbers and
analyzed by Chi-square.
Results: Among our study population, 16.71% were obese, 22.9% overweight, and 36.28% had normal body
mass index (BMI). Out of 177 obese participants, 63.27% were in Class 1, 25.43% were in Class 2, and 11.3 %
were classified as Class 3 obesity. Among obese, males and females were 57.63% and 42.37% respectively.
Individuals aged 26-39 were found to be more obese than other age groups. A total of 31.64% of obese
individuals were in the age group 18-25, 42.36% were in adulthood (26-39), 15.26% were in middle age (40-54)
and 10.74% were in old age (55 and above). Most of the respondents were not suffering from any metabolic
disease (81.53%), and 18.47% presented one or more than one metabolic disease. Metabolic complications,
smoking, and history of obesity, dietary intake, and physical activity were found significantly associated with
health status.
Conclusion: Increase in obesity among Pakistani adults was presented equally in both genders and in all
regions. It is significantly associated with several risk factors including history of obesity, physical activity, and
dietary intake

How to cite this: Nomani RMN, Khan A, Shah STA, Naeem A, Liaquat A, Khan MJ. Risk Factors of Obesity in the Adult Population of Pakistan. 2023; 4(4): 379-386. doi: http://doi.org/10.37185/LnS.1.1.433