Rasheed P, Abou-Hozaifa B M, Khan A
Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine and Medical Sciences, King Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
Public Health. 1994 Jul;108(4):289-94. doi: 10.1016/s0033-3506(94)80008-1.
The prevalence of obesity was examined among Saudi female medical and nursing students. The analysis was made on 222 students whose ages ranged from 18-25 years. Standard procedures for measuring weight, height and triceps skinfold measurements were conducted. The criteria for obesity used in the present study were: (i) body mass index (W/H2) in kg/m2 > or = 25 and (ii) triceps skinfold measurement of > or = 25 mm (> or = 85th percentile for ages 18-24 years). The prevalence rate of obesity by body mass index was found to be 30.6% with more girls falling in the Grade I (26.1%) than the Grade II (4.5%) category. Using the skinfold measurement as a standard, a smaller proportion (16.8%) of students was observed to be obese indicating variation in the sensitivity of the two indices as measures of body fatness. Irrespective of the method used for estimation, the prevalence of obesity in these young Saudi women was notably high and supports findings of earlier studies for a common occurrence of female obesity in this region. Preventive programmes for weight control and a healthy lifestyle among Saudi females should be emphasised from young adulthood or perhaps earlier.
对沙特阿拉伯的女医学生和护理专业学生的肥胖患病率进行了调查。分析对象为222名年龄在18至25岁之间的学生。采用了测量体重、身高和肱三头肌皮褶厚度的标准程序。本研究中使用的肥胖标准为：(i) 体重指数（体重/身高²）以千克/平方米计≥25，以及 (ii) 肱三头肌皮褶厚度测量值≥25毫米（18至24岁人群中≥第85百分位数）。通过体重指数得出的肥胖患病率为30.6%，处于I级（26.1%）的女生多于II级（4.5%）。以皮褶厚度测量值为标准，观察到肥胖学生的比例较小（16.8%），这表明这两种指标作为身体脂肪测量方法的敏感性存在差异。无论采用何种评估方法，这些沙特年轻女性中的肥胖患病率都显著较高，这支持了早期研究中关于该地区女性肥胖普遍存在的结果。应从成年早期或更早开始，在沙特女性中强调体重控制和健康生活方式的预防方案。
