Prevalence and determinants of obesity in an urban sample of Portuguese adults

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An annotated bibliography
Santos, A., & Barros, H 2003, Prevalence and Determinants of Obesity in an Urban Sample of Portuguese Adults, Public Health, Vol.117, pp.430-437
The main aim of the study was to evaluate the prevalence and determinants of obesity and its association with prevalent cardiovascular conditions. The wide spread increase in the prevalence of overweight and obesity is a matter of great concern. The social, health and economic impacts of obesity have led to this medical condition being a matter of great concern. According to the study, the main causes of weight gain are energy intakes that exceed energy expenditures. Obesity has been blamed for most states of ill health ranging from nonfatal diseases such as osteoarthritis to chronic diseases such as diabetes, coronary heart disease and stroke and hence overweight people are assuming a greater risk of premature death (Santos, Barros, 2003, p.431). Empirical evidence shows that in Western Europe, Portugal has he highest stroke mortality rate from cardiovascular diseases.
The current prevalence and the trends in obesity are said to be reflecting changes in lifestyles and environment. Physical activity has been named as the main variable component for energy expenditure.
One of the strengths of the study is that it has been able to highlight the main cause of obesity as well as the health impacts of this condition. The response rate of the study was relatively high and hence the study can be relied on in making conclusions on obesity. The study was specifically aimed at evaluating the prevalence and determinants of obesity and its association with cardiovascular diseases or risk factors (Santos, Barros, 2003, p.435). Enough data was collected to enable conclusio...