17 percent of Turkish population obese, report shows

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

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Seventeen percent of the Turkish population aged 15 and older is obese, according to official figures from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK), which noted that the obesity rate was 20 percent in women and 13 percent in men.

Some 34 percent of the overall population is overweight, the report further showed, while around 44 percent is of normal weight. The rates differ among the sexes, with 30 percent of the female population and 39 percent of the male population falling into the overweight category.

A person is considered obese if his or her body mass index, which is reached by dividing weight by the square of height in meters, is over 30.00, according to the report. An individual with a normal weight will have a body mass index of between 18.50 and 25.00.

The health evaluation revealed other characteristics of the Turkish population as well, with problems of hypertension rising to the surface. Around 13 percent of the population suffers from hypertension problems, while nearly half of the population – a strong 48 percent – aged 15 and higher has measured their blood pressure in the past year.

Twelve percent of the population suffers from skeletal and muscular problems, while 9 percent experiences rheumatic pains. Seven percent of the adult population suffers from stomach ulcers, and 6 percent have diabetes, the numbers show.

As for the younger population, diarrhea was found to be the most common health concern in kids aged up to 6, as 27 percent suffered from it, while dental problems came to the top in children aged 7 to 14, with 24 percent of population suffering from dental concerns.

Over 15,000 households were included in the sample, TUİK said.