Prevalence of dyslipidemia and obesity among college students in Kuwait

Background: Dyslipidemia is a major cause of cardiovascular disease. There is a remarkable rise in its prevalence. The relation between overweight/obesity and dyslipidemia has been approved. Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of elevated levels of blood lipids and obesity among college students in Kuwait. Methods: A sample of 484 students aged 17-24 years, were chosen randomly from the College of Basic Education, Kuwait, during the period from the beginning of March 2009 till mid January 2010. Data were collected, using a predesigned interviewing schedule that contained personal information, weight, height, waist circumference and blood lipid profile. Results: The overall prevalence of dyslipidemia, overweight and obesity were 10.5%, 30.6% and 19.8% among the studied sample respectively. Waist circumference based obesity was found in 41.8%. Overweight was more frequently encountered in females whereas higher proportion of BMI-based obesity was found in males. The prevalence of waist circumference-based obesity was higher in females than in males. Conclusion: Prevalence of elevated levels of blood lipids and BMI-based obesity was higher among male than female students in the college. More screening should be performed especially for overweight/obese students for the risk of dyslipidemia. (C) 2011 Alexandria University Faculty of Medicine. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.