A review of adult obesity prevalence, trends, risk factors, and epidemiologic methods in Kuwait.
OBJECTIVE
Kuwait is among the countries with the highest obesity rates worldwide; however, little is known about the state of obesity epidemiology research in Kuwait. In this paper, we therefore review the findings and methodology of studies on the prevalence, trends and risk factors of obesity in Kuwait.


METHODS
The PubMed database was searched using the keyword combination: obesity and adults and Kuwait. Out of 111 articles, 39 remained after abstract review, and 18 were selected after full-text review.


RESULTS
The studies were all cross-sectional and published in the last fifteen years (1997-2012). The sample size ranged from 177 to 38,611 individuals. Only 30% of studies used random sampling. The prevalence (BMI ≥ 30) in studies with a nationally representative sample ranged from 24% to 48% overall and in adults >50 years was greater than 52%. Rates were significantly higher in women than those in men. Studies that examined trends showed an increase in obesity prevalence between 1980 and 2009. Multiple risk factors including sociocultural factors were investigated in the studies; however, factors were only crudely assessed.


CONCLUSIONS
There is a need for future studies, particularly surveillance surveys and prospective cohort studies utilizing advanced methods, to monitor trends and to comprehensively assess the factors contributing to the obesity epidemic in Kuwait.
Genome Centre, Dasman Diabetes Institute, P.O. Box 1180, Dasman, 15462 Kuwait City, Kuwait.
Stalo
S
Karageorgi
Genome Centre, Dasman Diabetes Institute, P.O. Box 1180, Dasman, 15462 Kuwait City, Kuwait.
Osama
O
Alsmadi
Dasman Diabetes Institute, P.O. Box 1180, Dasman 15462, Kuwait.
Kazem
K
Behbehani
D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007730:Kuwait / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology / Q000517:prevention & control; D011159:Population Surveillance; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D014507:Urbanization