The assessment of health-related quality of life in relation to the body mass index value in the urban population of Belgrade

BACKGROUND: The association between excess body weight, impairment of health and different co-morbidities is well recognized; however, little is known on how excess body weight may affect the quality of life in the general population. Our study investigates the relationship between perceived health-related quality of life (HRQL) and body mass index (BMI) in the urban population of Belgrade. METHODS: The research was conducted during 2005 on a sample of 5,000 subjects, with a response of 63.38%. The study sample was randomly selected and included men and women over 18 years of age, who resided at the same address over a period of 10 years. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire and nutritional status was categorized using the WHO classification. HRQL was measured using the SF-36 generic score. Logistic regression analysis was used to compare HRQL between subjects with normal weight and those with different BMI values; we monitored subject characteristics and potential co-morbidity. RESULTS: The prevalence of overweight males and females was 46.6% and 22.1%, respectively. The prevalence of obesity was 7.5% in males and 8.5% in females. All aspects of health, except mental, were impaired in males who were obese. The physical and mental wellbeing of overweight males was not significantly affected; all score values were similar to those in subjects with normal weight. By contrast, obese and overweight females had lower HRQL in all aspects of physical functioning, as well as in vitality, social functioning and role-emotional. CONCLUSION: The results of our study show that, in the urban population of Belgrade, increased BMI has a much greater impact on physical rather than on mental health, irrespective of subject gender; the effects were particularly pronounced in obese individuals.