A Narrative Review of Obesity and Its Associated Complications in Iranian Women

Abstract

<strong>Context:</strong> Obesity is a major public health problem worldwide. This review aimed at providing an updated overview of obesity in Iranian women and its associated complications. <strong>Evidence Acquisition:</strong> In this narrative review study, related systematic reviews or meta-analysis studies of high ranking journals conducted from 2000 to 2016 were searched in the PubMed, Medline, and Scopus with the following keywords: “women OR female" AND “weight OR overweight OR obesity", “risk factors OR complications", “reproduction OR cancer OR cardiovascular disease OR diabetes OR gestational diabetes OR maternal obesity OR fertility OR pregnancy OR polycystic ovary syndrome" OR management. <strong>Results:</strong> In Iran, women have shown a constantly higher risk of obesity compared to men. After a 9- year follow-up, the age-standardized incidence rate (95% CI) of diabetes was 10.1 (7.24 - 13.9) in women. The increases in overweight and obesity in menopausal women have an important role in endometrial, colon, and breast cancer. Obesity increases the risk of endometrial cancer 2.4 to 4.5 folds compared to the normal weight women. Maternal obesity increases the risk of gestational hypertension 4.5 to 8.7 times compared to normal weight women. An increasing number of obese women becoming pregnant is associated with short- and long-term maternal and child outcomes. The prevalence of childhood obesity in children of obese women aged 3 to 5 years increases up to 25%; and these children have an almost 6- fold chance of being obese in young adulthood. Weight reduction of obese women is accompanied with lower incidence of obesity complications. The most effective interventions are multiple behavioral management activities. <strong>Conclusions:</strong> Considering the large population of young people in Iran and the lack of any effective preventive policy, the burden of obesity and its associated outcomes will be problematic in the near future.