High rates of obesity prevalence in adults living in central Greece: data from the ARGOS study.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the prevalence of obesity in adults of a large region of Central Greece.


METHODS
The target group was adults aged 18 to 79 years who were residents of the region of Thessaly for at least one year. A sample of 852 individuals stratified for sex and age were included. Each subject underwent a thorough physical examination and body mass index (BMI) was calculated from body weight and height. Waist and hip circumferences as well as body fat content were additionally measured.


RESULTS
Mean (SD) BMI for the total population was 27.5+/-5.5 and was significantly higher in males than in females (28.2+/-4.4 vs. 26.9+/-6.2, p<0.001). The overall prevalence of obesity was 26.6% distributed equally between men (27.8%) and women (25.6%), whereas prevalence of overweight was 39.4% with male predominance (50.8% vs. 29.3%, p<0.001). Morbid obesity (MO) was found in 3.5% with female predominance. The prevalence of central obesity, using waist circumference cut-off points (>102cm for men, >88cm for women), was comparable in males (40.4%) and females (35.3%). There was a positive association between obesity, central obesity, and age. The prevalence of overweight (19.5%) and obesity (9.4%) in the age-range of 18-29 years almost doubled in the next decade of age and attained the highest value, respectively, in the age-range of 50 to 59 (48.2%), and of 60 to 70 years group (38.9%).


CONCLUSIONS
The rates of overweight and obesity in the population of Thessaly are relatively high with overweight being more prominent in males than in females, whereas MO was higher in females compared to males.
Koukoulis
George N
GN
Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, University Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Thessaly, Larissa, Greece. gnkouk@med.uth.gr
Sakka
Christina
C
Katsaros
Fotis
F
Goutou
Maria
M
Tsirona
Sofia
S
Tsiapali
Efthimia
E
Piterou
Aristea
A
Stefanidis
Ioannis
I
Stathakis
Nikolaos
N
D050154:Adiposity; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D015992:Body Mass Index; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005260:Female; D006115:Greece / Q000453:epidemiology; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D056128:Obesity, Abdominal / Q000453:epidemiology; D009767:Obesity, Morbid / Q000453:epidemiology; D016017:Odds Ratio; D015995:Prevalence; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D017678:Sex Distribution; D055105:Waist Circumference; D049629:Waist-Hip Ratio; D055815:Young Adult