Trends in the prevalence of obesity among young Thai men and associated factors: from 2009 to 2016

Abstract

Background The prevalence of obesity has been increasing in both males and females worldwide. In Thailand, the National Health Examination Surveys reported that the prevalence of obesity (body mass index (BMI) ≥30 kg/m 2 ) among Thai male adults aged 20–59 years increased from 1.7% in 1991 to 6.8% in 2009. Obesity has been confirmed to lead to health problems, including noncommunicable diseases. In the present study, we report trends in the prevalence of obesity among new conscripts from 2009 to 2016. We also investigated the associated factors of obesity. Methods Serial cross-sectional studies were conducted from 2009 to 2016 among male Royal Thai Army (RTA) conscripts whose weight and height had been measured to determine BMI after being inducted. Each subject completed a detailed risk factor questionnaire. Obesity was defined as BMI ≥ 30 kg/m 2 . Results A total of 26,540 young Thai males conscripted into the RTA were included in this study. The prevalence of obesity was 2.2% in 2009, 3.4% in 2010, 2.5% in 2011, 2.9% in 2012, 3.4% in 2013, 4.4% in 2014, 5.0% in 2015, and 4.8% in 2016 ( P for trend < 0.0001). The independent risk factors for obesity were coming from the north central and south regions compared with the northeast, higher education level, indoor occupation and no regular exercise. Conclusions Our data emphasized that obesity constitutes a serious problem among young Thai men. We could apply these findings in military units to other groups at any age. Regular exercise should be provided to young adults and other age groups to slow the process of obesity, so that associated complications, especially noncommunicable diseases, will cease.

Trends, prevalence and associated factors of obesity among adults in a rural community in Thailand: serial cross-sectional surveys, 2012 and 2018

“…Compared with other countries in Asia, the increase in BMI and prevalence of obesity in the present study was synchronous with the findings of other Asian countries, including Indonesia [24] and Korea [25]. Similarly, the recent study of Hatthachote et al found a continuous increasing trend in prevalence of obesity among young Thai men over 8 years [26]. Obesity was confirmed as a potential risk factor for noncommunicable and ASCVD [4][5][6][7] When high BMI and obesity continue to progress, the prevalence of patients with noncommunicable diseases and their complications are more likely to increase.…”

Overweight and Obesity Among The Army Personnel with Low Socio-Economic Status In Kuala Lumpur: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…Descriptive characteristics of the study participants are presented in Table 1 .814, df = 2, p = 0.002), year of service (χ2 = 46.921, df = 2, p < 0.001), current health status (χ2 = 8.061, df = 3, p = 0.045), past medical illness (χ2 = 7.095, df = 1, p = 0.008), past injury (χ2 = 9.383, df = 1, p = 0.002), family history of obesity (χ2 = 33.144, df = 1, p < 0.001), knowledge on dietary intake (χ2 = 8.707, df = 1, p = 0.003) and plain water intake (χ2 = 6.145, df = 1, p = 0.013) (details in Table 2). (2019) [9] in the Royal Thai Army, however, when compared with the Malaysian National Health Morbidity Survey 2019 [2], the prevalence obtained in this study was lower by 9 %. Similarly, the obese prevalence obtained in this study was also smaller by 13.8% as compared to another study done among the low SES group by Razni et al (2015) [4], while the overweight prevalence was almost similar at 38.0%.…”

“…Majority of the respondents were 30 to 34 years of age (36.3%), male (81.9%), Islam (90.8%), Malay (88.1%), married (67.7%), have poor socioeconomic status (93.7%), in Corporal (KPL) rank (52.2%), with at least having secondary education (83.7%), in Combat Service Support element (42.6%) and with 5 to 15 year experience in service (61.7%). (2019) [9] in the Royal Thai Army, however, when compared with the Malaysian National Health Morbidity Survey 2019 [2], the prevalence obtained in this study was lower by 9 %. Similarly, the obese prevalence obtained in this study was also smaller by 13.8% as compared to another study done among the low SES group by Razni et al (2015) [4], while the overweight prevalence was almost similar at 38.0%.…”

“…In military institutions worldwide, sociodemographic factors [5,6], family history of obesity [7], lifestyle factors such as diet intake [8], physical activity [9], sleep quality [10], stress factor [11] and readiness to change factor [12] are often associated with overweight and obesity. However, in the military organization in Malaysia, previous studies only reported the relationship between socio-demographic to overweight and obesity [4], rendering the relationship with other factors left unknown.…”

Prevalence and Predictors of Overweight and Obesity among Military Personnel with Low Socio-Economic Status in Kuala Lumpur

“…In military institutions worldwide, sociodemographic factors [5,6] , family history of obesity [7] , lifestyle factors such as diet intake [8] , physical activity [9] , sleep quality [10] , stress factor [11] and readiness to change factor [12] are often associated with overweight and obesity. However, in the military organization in Malaysia, previous studies only reported the relationship between socio-demographic to overweight and obesity [4] , rendering the relationship with other factors left unknown.…”