Weight, height, body mass index and prevalence of obesity among the adult population in Bahrain.
OBJECTIVE
To determine anthropometric measurements (weight, height, body mass index, BMI), and the prevalence of overweight and obesity based on BMI.


METHODS
A cross-sectional survey of 514 Bahraini native adults aged 30-79 years was selected from households using clustering sampling technique.


RESULTS
Findings indicate that Bahraini adults were shorter but heavier, and have higher mean BMI than their Western counterparts, suggesting a trend to obesity. The overall prevalence of overweight and obesity was 35.2% and 21.2% for men, while that for women was 31% and 48.7%, respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
The results of this study confirmed the data in other Arabian Gulf countries, as obesity is a major public health problem among the adult population. Anthropometrics provided in this study can be used as baseline data for the adult population of Bahrain.
Musaiger
A O
AO
Environmental and Biological Programme, Bahrain Centre for Studies and Research, Manama. amusaiger@bcsr.gov.bh
Al-Mannai
M A
MA
D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000886:Anthropometry; D001445:Bahrain / Q000453:epidemiology; D001827:Body Height; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011159:Population Surveillance; D015995:Prevalence; D017678:Sex Distribution