Cardiovascular Risk Factors and their Responses to a 10 Weeks Training Program in Young Qatari Adults.
Rapid development in Qatar in recent years has led to numerous changes, particularly the increased prevalence of lifestyle related health risks, with almost 50% obesity rates amongst Qataris of all ages. We investigated the effects of a 10-week exercise training program aimed at young Qatari adults, on a number of Cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors. With Qatar University IRB approval, we screened 158 (89 males, 69 females) Qatari student volunteers from Qatar University for CVD factors of hypertension indicated by Systolic Blood Pressure (BPS) and Diastolic Blood Pressure (BPD), overweight and obesity indicated by Body Fat percentage (%BF), Body Weight (BW) and Body Mass Index (BMI).
The training involved 30-45 min of either walking, cycling, jogging and swimming at an exercise intensity corresponding to 50-85% of each participant’s maximum heart rate, on 3-5 times/week. However, the alarmingly high prevalence of sedentary-related CVD risks amongst Qatari young adults, especially those related to obesity, overweight and hypertension necessitate further public health interventions in this age-group as an early prevention strategy.
Qatari population has received very little attention in terms of obesity research despite the country recording the highest obesity and physical inactivity rates across the WHO classified regions, perhaps due to recent emergence of wealth and natural resources in the GCC region, which has impacted on its populations’ health and lifestyle. Limited data available have indicated that over 41% of its population being physically inactive, 76% of its male adults being classified as overweight
or obese reflecting the highest percentage among the GCC and Western countries,15 whilst, hypertension rates are also high and over 32% of Qatari adults.
Obes Res Open J. 2015; 2(2): 57-63.doi: 10.17140/OROJ-2-110
