The Relationship between General and Central Obesity with Anxiety among Iranian Young Men

Background: Anxiety is a common psychological disorder that impacts on the quality of life. In recent decades, anxiety has increased, as well as obesity especially among young people. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between general and central obesity with anxiety among Iranian young men. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2016 on 246 men who were selected through cluster sampling according to the inclusion criteria. Anthropometric measurements were performed according to the standard procedure. Anxiety was assessed by DASS questionnaires with Cronbach's coefficient 0.78. In the final analysis, confounding factors were controlled and P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: In this study, 27% of the population had extreme anxiety and 29% had moderate anxiety. In the adjusted model, there was an inverse relationship between anxiety and central obesity (OR = 0.25, 95% CI: 0.07-0.85, P-trend < 0.01), as well as total body fat. The odds ratio of anxiety based on body mass index groups was not significant. Conclusions: Overall central obesity and total body fat have an inverse relationship with anxiety. Prospective studies are required to confirm these associations in young populations.