Validation of an Arabic Version of the Obesity-Related Wellbeing (ORWELL 97) Questionnaire in Adults with Obesity

Abstract

Overall, the Arabic version of the ORWELL 97 can be considered validated in Arabic adult patients with obesity, paving the way to further assessment of its responsiveness in measuring changes in health-related quality of life associated with obesity treatment.

The Association between Body Mass Index and Health-Related Quality of Life in Treatment-Seeking Arab Adults with Obesity

“…The ORWELL 97 questionnaire is an 18-item measure of obesity-related quality of life that has been validated in Italian-, English- and Portuguese-speaking populations [ 13 , 15 , 16 ]. The recently validated Arabic version [ 12 ] enabled us to carefully assess, apparently for the first time, HRQoL in Arabic-speaking treatment-seeking individuals with obesity, an investigation that produced two major findings.…”

“…The validated Arabic version of the ORWELL 97 questionnaire [ 12 ] used to assess the participants’ HRQoL is composed of 18 items designed to examine the intensity and subjective relevance of obesity-related physical and psychosocial distress; for each item the participant is asked to score, on a four-point Likert scale, the occurrence and/or severity of the symptom (occurrence) and the subjective relevance of the symptom-related impairment in their life (relevance) [ 13 ]. The score of the item is calculated as the product of occurrence and relevance.…”

“…However, a recent study validated the Arabic version of the ORWELL 97—a specific questionnaire designed to assess obesity-related quality of life—and found it suitable for use in Arab adults with obesity [ 12 ]. For this reason, we set out to use ORWELL 97 to investigate the impact of obesity on HRQoL, and assess any association between HRQoL and body mass index (BMI), in a group of Arabic-speaking treatment-seeking adults with obesity.…”

Interactions of Comorbidity and Five Simple Environmental Unhealthy Habits Concerning Physical and Mental Quality of Life in the Clinical Setting

“…The HRQoL is emerging as a relevant medical issue, reflecting the overall subjective wellbeing of the patients [ 18 , 27 ]. Indeed, an improvement in the QoL of patients is one objective of current personalized medicine [ 28 ].…”

“…Undeniably, there is a direct relationship between disease and HRQoL [ 16 , 17 , 18 ]. However, the assessment of comorbidity could be obscured by the heterogeneity of illness and the accumulation of different diseases in the same patient.…”