Anthropometric obesity indices in relation to age, educational level, occupation and physical activity in Bulgarian men.

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to estimate the level of obesity and its relationship to age, educational level, occupation and physical activity in adult Bulgarian men. MATERIAL AND METHODS The sample included 1010 men, aged 18-50 years old, from town of Plovdiv, Bulgaria. The study was made in period 2004-2008. The body height, weight and waist circumference were measured. Overweight and obesity were defined according to the international cut-off points of body mass index (BMI). The abdominal obesity was assess by the categories of waist-height ratio (WHTR).The age, educational level, occupation and physical activity of each person were investigated through inquiry. For statistical analysis the SPSS package was used. RESULTS The results shown that 42.1% of investigated men were overweight and 19.4% of them were with obesity.With irregular WHTR and central obesity were 66.1% of all cases. The percent of men with general and central obesity increases with age. In the case of both general and central obesity, the differences between physical and intellectual workers are significance, even after controlling the age.WHTR has a greater potential for differentiating persons with different occupations than BMI. The age and occupation were the most significant factors affecting the general and abdominal obesity. The educational level has a significant impact on abdominal accumulation of fat.The connection between level of physical activity and BMI and WHTR was lower. CONCLUSION The study finds that the men working and living in that particular urban area have significant differences in terms of overweight and obesity. The educational level, occupation and age have a serious potential to influenced their body nutritional status.