[Obesity and overweight in Croatia].

AIM: Obesity has become a growing public health problem. The number of obese people in the world is increasing, carrying a number of risks for the development of cardiovascular and other diseases. There are no easy or short-term solutions for this problem. The causes differ and the number of obese and overweight people varies from region to region. The aim of the study was to estimate the distribution of obese and overweight people in Croatia.

METHODS: The study was carried out in 2003 in a sample of 9070 subjects, representative of the population of Croatia. We used three measures of obesity and overweight: body mass index (BMI); waist circumference, and waist/hip ratio (WHR). Overweight is defined as BMI of 25.00-29.99 kg/m2, and obesity as BMI of 30 kg/m2. The other two measures vary according to sex. Waist circumference greater than 102 cm (40 in) in men and greater than 88 cm (35 in) in women is considered to show unfavorable fat distribution, and WHR > or = 1 in men and > or =0.85 implies an increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, and some forms of cancer. Weighted data were analyzed with SPSS statistical software.

RESULTS: The analysis of each of the variables yielded the following results: BMI: generally, more than 1 in 5 adults (about 720,000) in Croatia were obese with no sex differences. The highest rate of obesity was found in the inland part of the country and lowest along the Adriatic coast. Overweight was more common than obesity, showing some sex differences [705,000 (43%) men and 625,000 (34%) women]. The greatest number of overweight men lived along the Adriatic cost and in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, while the greatest number of overweight women lived along the Adriatic coast. The greatest number of overweight young men lived along the Adriatic coast and of young overweight women in the east inland part of Croatia. Waist circumference showed great sex differences: 54% of women (993,000) had waist circumference greater than 88 cm (35 in), and 37% of men (607,000) had waist circumference greater than 102 cm (40 in). The greatest number of men with such waist circumference were found in the inland part, and in the middle and southernmost part of the Adriatic coast. The greatest number of women with waist circumference over 88 cm lived in the continental part of Croatia. WHR showed even greater sex difference: 41.0% of women (754,000) and 18.5% of men (303,000) had unfavorable WHR. The greatest number of men and women with unfavorable WHR lived in the inland and southern parts of Croatia.

CONCLUSIONS: Obesity and overweight pose major problems in Croatia. There are regional and sex differences, and differences according to the variables observed. In order to get proper insight in the current situation, we recommend that BMI be adjusted for fat distribution and comorbid conditions.