Prevalence of obesity among women in Turkey: analysis of KETEM data.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Determining the prevalence of obesity is a crucial step in combating with obesity and devising national health strategies. It is particularly important to better understand prevalence of obesity among women as women in Turkey also highly impacts the dietary habits of the whole household. This article determines the prevalence of obesity among adult women in the country. PATIENTS AND METHODS Each Cancer Early Diagnosis and Screening Center were asked to submit data on BMI indices for women who visited the centers between January and June 2011. The data were collected on January 1 and July 1 first for each respective quarter. Patients ranged between 30-65 years old. World Health Organization guidelines on BMI cutoffs were used to determine the prevalence of obesity and overweight. RESULTS The prevalence of obesity of adult women aged 35-60 was found to be 35%. The highest prevalence was observed in Western part of Turkey in the Aegean region with 42% of women with BMI over 30. The lowest rate was observed in the Eastern Turkey with 21% obese women, followed by 28% in Southeastern Turkey. CONCLUSION The prevalence of obesity among adult women in Turkey is very comparable to some of the other countries with highest rates of obesity in the world. Women specific health strategies against obesity should be devised.