IMPROVING AWARENESS OF PATIENTS WITH OBESITY AND ITS HEALTHCARE IMPLICATIONS
Authors:   Consultant Family Medicine, Jeddah University Medical Center, Jeddah University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia., Abdul Aziz Balbaid Eman , Abdul Rahman Hafiz Halah ,   Assistant Professor, Umm Alqura University, Makkah, KSA., Hukomi Awam Rabab ,   Family Medicine Senior Registerer, MOH, Makkah, KSA., Abdulrazaq Alfaraj Hakeema ,   Resident Doctor, Alahsa Health Cluster, Alahsa, Saudi Arabia., Mohammed Alzilay Maryam ,   Service Doctor, MOH, KSA., Hashim Alzahrani Ali ,   Service Doctor, MOH, KSA., Mdari Alomiri Jawaher ,   Service Doctor, MOH, KSA., Ahmed Alghamdi Alaa ,   Service Doctor, MOH, KSA., Abdulrahman Hobani Tarik ,   Service Doctor, MOH, KSA., Abdulaziz Neyaz Amer ,   Service Doctor, MOH, KSA., Ali Hamdi Abdullah ,   Service Doctor, MOH, KSA., Shamsul Haque Sordar Mohammad ,   Service Doctor, MOH, KSA., Ali Siraj Amal ,   Specialist-Sociology, King Abdullah Hospital, Jeddah, KSA., Mohammed Ladnah Tariq ,   Medical Intern, King Khalid University, Abha, Asir, KSA., Thalib Alalyani Yousef ,   Medical Intern, King Khalid University, Abha, Asir, KSA.
Published: January 2023

Background:Obesity is officially recognized as a chronic disease and a top public health priority by several global societies and healthcare bodies.This research aimed to examine the awareness of patients who are suffering from obesity and adopt the required healthcare measurements to minimize the level of obesity. Methods:A cross-sectional study was used in this research work that helped in raising the awareness of patients regarding obesity and adhering to healthy activities. The philosophy of positivism would be appropriate because this research work involved a detailed analysis of gathered data which is quantitative in nature. The approach of research that would be best for this research work is an inductive approach which is based on developing a new theory and that is what is required for executing this research work. The design for executing the research work is descriptive because a cross-sectional study was executed and therefore the assessment of the gathered data involved a detailed and descriptive assessment of the retrieved data. Results:Of 610 participants included in the current study, 486 of study participants agreed that they feel that obesity is increasing in recent times (79.7%). Vast majority of study participants believed that eating habits have a role in the development of obesity (n= 594, 97.4%). The same percentage almost believed that avoiding oily and junk food would reduce obesity (n= 581, 95.2%). In addition, more than half of study participants experiencedsome issues with excessive weight and suffering from obesity (n= 353, 57.9%).The most frequent issue experienced by obese individuals was diabetes (n= 300, 49.2%). They responded that low carbohydrates diet is the best choice (n= 406, 66.6%) followed by green vegetables (n= 169, 27.7%) then fruits came in the last place (n= 35, 5.7%). Conclusion:Most of study participants agreed that they feel that obesity is increasing in recent times. Vast majority of study participants believed that eating habits have a role in the development of obesity. Study revealed that the most frequent issue experienced by obese individuals was diabetes.