Factors related to obesity among Iranian men: results from the National Health Survey.
OBJECTIVE
To our knowledge, only a few Iranian studies have investigated factors associated with obesity among men. The aims of the present study were to explore the associations between sociodemographic factors, smoking and obesity in Iranian men and compare these associations between Iranian men and women.


METHODS
We used data from the National Health Survey in Iran. A generalised estimating equations model included 11,697 men and 14,854 women aged 20-69 years (12,850 households). Body weight and height were objectively measured. BMI was calculated as kg/m2, and subjects were classified into obese (BMI >or= 30 kg/m2) and non-obese (BMI < 30 kg/m2).


RESULTS
Among men, adjusted obesity OR were 0.62 (95 % CI 0.52, 0.74), 1.09 (95 % CI 0.90, 1.32), 1.003 (95 % CI 1.00, 1.007) and 0.57 (95 % CI 0.40, 0.81) for smokers, married, economic index and active workforce groups, respectively. Using low education as the reference group, the obesity OR for men were 1.06 (95 % CI 0.89, 1.26) and 0.75 (95 % CI 0.57, 0.99) for the moderate and high education groups, respectively. Using rural as the reference group, the obesity OR was 1.87 (95 % CI 1.56, 2.26) for urban men.


CONCLUSIONS
Our findings may point towards a better understanding of the social and cultural mechanisms of obesity in Iranian men. The above sociodemographic factors are large contributors to obesity and provide the greatest opportunity for actions and interventions designed for prevention and treatment.
Bakhshi
Enayatollah
E
Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran.
Mohammad
Kazem
K
Eshraghian
Mohammad R
MR
Seifi
Behjat
B
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015992:Body Mass Index; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D017533:Marital Status; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016017:Odds Ratio; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012907:Smoking; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult