Prevalence of Overweight, Obesity and Their Associated Risk of Metabolic Complications among Female Students at Al-Baha University, Saudi Arabia

Background: Overweight and obesity are major health problems worldwide. These conditions increase the rates of morbidity and mortality. Aims: This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of obesity among female students at Al-Baha University and determine the relationship between increased body weight and metabolic complications. Methods: This Cross-sectional study included all female students in grade-I and grade-II (283 students) from Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences at Al-Baha University, Saudi Arabia. The anthropometric data, including weight, height, and waist circumferences (WC) were measured for all participants in the study’s target sample, and the interviews were conducted with them within their faculty. Body mass index (BMI) was used to classify body weight status; WC (>80cm) and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR≥5) were used to determine the prevalence of central obesity, and associated complications were evaluated. Results: Prevalence of overweight and obesity were 16.3% and 9.2%, respectively (6.4% with obesity class-I at moderate health risk, 2.1% with obesity class-II at severe health risk, and 0.7% obesity class-III at very severe health risk), while central obesity prevalence with WC>80 was 9.5% and increased to 13.4% when WHtR≥5 was used. Estimated prevalence of overweight based on BMI combined with WC>88 and WC<88 were 0.4% and 15.9%, respectively. While for obesity, it was 4.6% for each WC>88 and WC<88, which put these students at high to extremely high health complications. Conclusions and Recommendation: More than 25% of the study group is either obese or overweight. These findings suggest the need for appropriate interventions and prevention.