Endocrine Abstracts

Backgrounds and aim: Millions of people all over the world are in a search for the perfect weight loss plan. The aim of our research was to make a typical portrait of a Belarusian citizen who is trying to lose weight.

Methods: Participants were individuals (n=70) who were screened for a behavioral weight-loss treatment program. The majority of patients were women (88.4%). The mean age was 46.56+9.43 years. Among the participants three of 70 persons had normal BMI but felt themselves fat, 13 patients were overweight and 53 were obese (23 persons had BMI 30–34.9 kg/m²; 14 persons – BMI 35.0–39.9 kg/m²; and 17 persons BMI >40 kg/m²). We analyzed the anamnesis of obesity, eating habits, physical activity, and comorbidity of the participants.

Results: We revealed that 18 of 67 participants (26.8%) had the excess weight from childhood, 17% of women become overweight after delivery. 41 of 67 persons (61.2%) had obese relatives on the maternal line, 28 of 67 persons (41.8%) on the paternal line. Among the participants 17 of 67 participants (25.3%) had hypertension and cardiovascular diseases, four of 67 (6%) registered hyperglycemia, 22.3% osteoarthritis. The majority of patients 52.2% made attempts to lose weight earlier; 47.7% of the participants follow unproven dieting advices; 19.4% used supplements and diet pills. The analyses of the eating habits revealed that 37.3% follow the starvation diet, 31.3% of participants were breakfast skippers. Physical activity <30 min five times per week was registered in 65.6% cases. The episodes of night eating described 8.9% participants. 13.4% of respondents felt teasing and social rejection.

Conclusion: Thus the typical obese Belarusian patient looking for losing weight is a women of 46.5 years old, who often had a severe anamnesis of obesity, series of comorbities, and disordered eating patterns.