Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity among adult females. A multistage stratified sample of 2999 adult females was examined. 52.5% were found to be overweight (10-20% above reference weight tables) and 42% obese (more than 20% above reference standards). The numbers increased with age. There were fewer obese and more overweight the higher the standard of education, with a similar pattern with the husbands' standard of education. Obesity was more prevalent (46.8%) in non-working women, 36.8% among those in management and 32.9% among those in technical work, while the corresponding figures for those overweight were 47.7%, 56.9% and 62.2%. The prevalence of obesity increased with family size while that of overweight fell. A similar pattern was found with the number of children. Family income was inversely related to the prevalence of obesity and positively related to overweight.
Al‐Awadi et al. (1989) studied this question.