Examining sitting as a predisposing factor of obesity among urban Palestinian population in East Jerusalem (PDF)

Research Paper (postgraduate) from the year 2011 in the subject Health Science, grade: A, The University of Texas at Austin, language: English, abstract: The health impact and financial burdens of obesity have been well documented. Excess weight is associated with an increased incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD), type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, stroke, dyslipidemia, osteoarthritis, and some cancers. Moreover, obesity is also believed to play a significant role in the development of the ‘metabolic syndrome’, a term given to a condition where risk factors for CVD clusters (Malnick and Knobler, 2006). Obesity is far more prevalent among Palestinians than Israelis (Abdul-Rahim et al., 2003). Significant high level of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and obesity were identified among Palestinians. Coronary Heart Disease incidence among the Arab population of Jerusalem was the highest documented among the MONICA centers, and Arab women appeared to be at particularly high risk (Kark et al., 2006). Moreover obesity is noted to be more prevalent among Palestinians in general, with central obesity and obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m) being significantly higher in women than men (Abu Sham'a et al., 2009).
Lifestyle has been identified to be a major cause of the epidemic of obesity; these include: poor diet, lack of physical activity and more recently discovered excessive sitting behavior in certain populations (Santos et al., 2010).
Physical activity is any bodily movement that results in caloric expenditure (Keller, 2008). Participation in regular physical activity has been linked to reduced risk of obesity (Keller, 2008).Therefore, we will study closely whether sitting is an independent determinant of obesity after accounting for the protective effect of physical activity among Palestinians in East Jerusalem, since obesity is one of the predisposing factors to other morbidities and mortalities in this part of