Background: To estimate the prevalence of obesity in Panama and determine some risk factors and associated diseases in adults aged 18 years and older.
Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in the provinces of Panama and Colon where 60.4 % of all Panamanians 18 years or older reside, by administering a survey regarding the consumption of protective and predisposing foods and assessing the development of obesity by measuring the weight, height, and waist circumference of 3590 people. A single-stage, probabilistic, and randomized sampling strategy employing multivariate stratification was used. Individuals with a body mass index ≥ 30 kg/m(2) (men and women) were considered obese. Prevalence and descriptive analysis were conducted according to sex using Odds Ratio, with statistical significance set at a p value ≤ 0.05.
Results: The general prevalence of obesity was 27.1 % (30.9 % women and 18.3 % men). In women, obesity was associated with living in urban areas, being 40-59 years of age, being Afro-Panamanian, consuming beverages / foods rich in sugar, being physically inactive and having a family history of obesity. In men, obesity was associated with living in urban areas, consuming beverages/foods rich in sugar, and having a family history of obesity. Almost the totality of obese women (97.9 %), and 80.0 % of men with obesity had abdominal obesity according to the WHO classification. In both sexes, obesity was a risk factor associated to type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, hypertension, LDL values ≥ 100 mg/dL, and low HDL values (<50 mg/dL for women and < 40 mg/dL for men), Odds Ratio > 1.0; P < 0.05.
Conclusions: Obesity represents a very serious threat to Panamanian public health. Our study confirms a direct association in Panama between excess weight, hypertension, type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, LDL values ≥ 100 mg/dL and low HDL values for women and men (<50 mg/dL and < 40 mg/dL, respectively). Intervention / treatment programs should be targeted, specially, to Afro-Panamanian women, whom are 40-59 years old, living in urban areas, and those having a family history of obesity.