January - March 2015, Volume 11, Issue 1

Roman G, Bala C, Creteanu G, Graur M, Morosanu M, Amorin P, Pîrcalaboiu L, Radulian G, Timar R, Achimas Cadariu A

Obesity and Health-Related Lifestyle Factors in the General Population in Romania: a Cross Sectional Study

Acta Endo (Buc) 2015, 11 (1): 64-72
doi: 10.4183/aeb.2015.64

Context. The socio-economic and medical burden of obesity represents a continuous challenge for both developing and developed countries. For Romania, the available data on the eating patterns, behavior and other components of lifestyle are scarce. Objective. The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of overweight and obesity in the Romanian general population and to identify lifestyle patterns characteristic for the Romanian population in terms of eating patterns and physical activity. Design. Cross-sectional, epidemiologic, multicenter non-interventional study Subjects and Methods. Between January 2014 and August 2014 were enrolled 2128 adults by 8 investigators spread in the main historical regions of Romania. The following data: demographic, anthropometric, employment status, education, family history, personal medical history, information on the lifestyle and eating habits. Results. The final population included in the analysis presented here consisted of 2103 participants with no missing information on height and weight. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 31.1% and 21.3%, respectively. The prevalence of obesity was 9.9% in the 18-39 years age group, 30.1% in the 40-59 years age group, 41.6% in the 60- 79 years age group and 24.1% in the ≥80 years age group (p <0.001). Irregular meals together with eating while watching TV were the most frequent unhealthy eating habits of the participants. Conclusions. We found a high prevalence of overweight and obesity among the participants enrolled. Our study has important implications for increasing the knowledge on the prevalence of overweight and obesity in Romania and associated lifestyle habits.

Keywords: overweight, obesity, prevalence, lifestyle.

Correspondence: Gabriela Roman MD PhD, “Iuliu Hatieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Diabetes, Nutrition, Metabolic Diseases, 2-4 Clinicilor street, Cluj-Napoca, 400006, Romania, E-mail: groman@umfcluj.ro