Volume 24, Issue 106, November - December, 2020

Appraisal of general population knowledge on obesity-related diseases in Ha’il Region

Fayez Saud Alreshidi¹, Hani Abdulrhman Zabin Almutairi², Abdulaziz Fahhad Salehalanazi², Rasha Mohammed Alarfaj³, Ebtehaj Saud Almughais¹, Fatmah Fahad Alreshidi¹, Asma Mudhfi Alshammari¹, Duaa Nasser Almansour¹, Hussain Gadelkarim Ahmed^2,4♦

¹Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Ha’il, Saudi Arabia
²Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, University of Ha’il, Saudi Arabia
³Department of Family and Community Medicine, Unaizah College of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Qassim University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
⁴Department of Histopathology and Cytology, FMLS, University of Khartoum, Sudan

^♦Corresponding author
Prof. Hussain Gadelkarim Ahmed, College of Medicine, University of Ha’il, Saudi Arabia. Email: hussaingad5@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

Background: Global efforts to reduce the burden of obesity are now foremost. Consequently, this study aimed to evaluate the appraisal of general population knowledge on obesity-related diseases in the Ha'il Region, Northern Saudi Arabia. Methodology: About 315 Saudi civilians living in the city of Ha'il, Northern Saudi Arabia were randomly selected for this survey. Data were obtained during a cross-sectional survey conducted during the period from October 2019 to Feb 2020. Results: Out of the 315 study subjects, 110/315(35%) believe that keeping healthy body weight is important for disease prevention. Out of the 315 participants, 24% of them were obese and 29% were overweight. About 70/315(22.2%) of the participants were categorized as having one or more chronic illness, of whom 49/70(70%) were overweight/obese. Conclusion: though there is a slight decline in the prevalence of overweight/obesity in the Ha'il region, Northern Saudi Arabia, still overweight/obese are prevalent. Civilians of Northern Saudi Arabia still in need of additional efforts towards obesity preventive measures to fulfill the recommended guidelines.

Keywords: Obesity, Overweight, chronic diseases, Saudi Arabia, Ha’il region

Medical Science, 2020, 24(106), 4402-4409

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