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Prevalence of overweight and obesity in United Arab Emirates Expatriates: the UAE national diabetes and lifestyle study

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posted on 2017-01-01, 00:00 authored by N Sulaiman, S Elbadawi, A Hussein, S Abusnana, A Madani, M Mairghani, F Alawadi, A Sulaiman, P Zimmet, Oliver HuseOliver Huse, J Shaw, Anna PeetersAnna Peeters
Objective: To describe current prevalence of obesity and related non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in expatriates living in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Methods: We used data from the cross-sectional UAE National Diabetes and Lifestyle Study (UAEDIAB), which surveyed adult expatriates living in the UAE for at least 4 years. We report crude prevalence of overweight and obesity, indicated by gender and ethnicity-specific body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) cut-offs, by lifestyle and biomedical characteristics, as well as age and sex-adjusted odds ratios. Results: Out of a total of 3064 recruited expatriates (response rate 68%), 2724 had completed all stages of the UAEDIAB study. Expatriates were; 81% men, mean age 38 years (range 18-80), 71% South East Asians, and 36% university graduates. In this sample, the prevalence of overweight and obesity, by BMI, were 43.0 and 32.3%, respectively. 52.4 and 56.5% of participants were at a substantially increased risk according to WC and WHR, respectively. The prevalence of diabetes, hypertension and hypercholesterolemia were 15.5, 31.8, and 51.7%, respectively, with the prevalence of each being higher in those with obesity. Conclusion: Prevalence of obesity and associated NCDs are extremely high in UAE expatriates. Without comprehensive prevention and management, levels of disease will continue to increase and productivity will fall.

History

Journal

Diabetology and metabolic syndrome

Volume

9

Article number

88

Pagination

1 - 9

Publisher

BioMed Central

Location

London, Eng.

ISSN

1758-5996

Language

eng

Publication classification

C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal; C Journal article

Copyright notice

2017, The Authors

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