A Comparison of Health-Related Quality of Life among Normal-Weight, Overweight and Obese Adults in Qazvin Metabolic Diseases Study (QMDS), Iran

Background: Obesity is a public health problem that has raised concern worldwide. Numerous epidemiological studies have been showed the relationship between obesity, abdominal fatness and risk of a wide range of illnesses (i.e. diabetes). Obese people experience health-related quality-of-life (HRQL) impairments. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of BMI on Quality of Life, among Normal-Weight, Overweight and Obese adults in Qazvin, Iran. Methods: This Cross-Sectional study was conducted on 1103 subjects (aged 20-78 years old) from September 2010 to April 2011 in Qazvin, Iran. The study subjects were selected by multistage cluster random sampling method from residents of mindoodar district of Qazvin. Obesity was defined based on Body Mass Index and SF-36 questionnaire was used as measurement instrument for quality of life. Data were analyzed by Chi-square test, ANOVA and MANOVA. Results: A total of 527 men and 576 women were entered the study. Mean BMI was 25.97 ±4.5 Kg/m2. The scores of 6 domains were significantly different between 3 groups of BMI. The differences of physical component summary (PCS) and mental component summary (MCS) scores were also significant between normal weight, overweight and obese subjects (p<0.001 and p<0.025, respectively). Conclusion: This study underlines the importance of HRQL in overweight and obese individuals. These results suggest that more attention to the obesity and overweight is needed in Iranian population.