The Prevalence and Associated Factors of Central Obesity in Northern Iran

Background: The main objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of central obesity and some related factors in the north of Iran (Golestan province) in 2006. Method: This was a population –based cross-sectional study that comprised 2471 subjects (1250 males and 1221 female), using stratified cluster sampling. Interviewers recorded the data using the multidimensional questionnaire and anthropometric indexes. Waist circumference ?102 and ?88 cm categorized as central obesity for men and women respectively. SPSS 16.0 software was used for statistical analysis. Results: The mean and standard deviation of age was 39.2±14.28 years and waist circumference was 87.1±13.7 cm in men and 90.2±15.8 cm in women, respectively. In total, the prevalence of central obesity was 32.01% and it was significantly higher in women (57.2%) than in men (15.8%), in urban area (40.5%) than in rural areas (31.9%) and in uneducated people (52.3%) than in college educated people (19.9) (P=0.001). Logistic regression analysis revealed that central obesity was significantly associated with age, urbanization, parity and illiteracy (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Central obesity was the most serious health problem in the north of Iran and it was more prevalent in women than men. Socio-demographic factors such as younger age (between 15-25 and 25-35 years), urbanization, marital status and illiteracy were associated with central obesity. Further studies are necessary to establish the association between central obesity and racial differences in this area.