| Peer-Reviewed

Obesity Among Male Employees at Saudi Aramco: Trends, Factors, and Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare Recommendations

Received: 29 June 2018     Accepted: 13 July 2018     Published: 7 August 2018
Views:       Downloads:
Abstract

The purpose of this primary data analysis is to estimate the prevalence of obesity in a specific workplace in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The information would then be used to predict the prevalence of obesity among the male workforce of Saudi Aramco, the largest oil company in the world. A total of N=1,000 male employees (883Saudis, 117non-Saudis), aged 19-65, participated. They were randomly selected from several male Saudi Aramco stations and were asked to take a survey. Chi-square test was used to measure the significance effect of some independent variables on the BMI status. The overall prevalence was estimated, with a confidence level of 95%, at 22.5±2.6% for obesity, 36.7±3% for overweight, and 1±0.6% for underweight. The figures highly depended on the region where they spent their childhood, their age, nationality, and amount of exercise performed per week. For instance, 27.4±4.2% of those who grew up in the Eastern Province were estimated to be obese (vs. 16.5±3.5% among those raised elsewhere in KSA), and 28.7±5% of those who rarely exercise (less than 1 hour per week) were considered obese (vs. 17.8±4.1% among those who work out for at least 3 hours per week). As a result, a logistic model, involving these factors, was used for future prediction. For example, non-Saudis would be about 2.3 times more likely to be obese, and those aged 30-39 would be about 1.9 times more likely to be obese compared to “under 30” and “50 or more” age groups and 1.7 times more likely to be so than those aged 40-49. In addition, the lowest and highest conditional probabilities of obesity relative to this model were determined (6.6% and 66.4%). As a result, the likeliest male employees to be obese; the non-Saudi ones, raised in the Easter Province, aged 30-39 and exercise very little (less than 1h/w), would actually have more than two chances in three to be obese. Based on relatively concerning figures about obesity in male employees of Saudi Aramco, this paper recommends workplace wellness program model to improve the health of employees and their productivity, by creating an atmosphere of health and care for their well-being.

Published in American Journal of Internal Medicine (Volume 6, Issue 4)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajim.20180604.15
Page(s) 73-81
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2018. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

BMI, Logistic Regression Model, Male Employees, Obesity, Odds Ratio, Saudi Arabia, Saudi Aramco, Workplace Wellness Model

References
[1] Bull F., Dvorak J. Tackling Chronic Disease Through Increased Physical Activity in the Arab World and the Middle East: Challenge and Opportunity. Br J Sports Med. (2013). 47 (10):600–602. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2012-092109.
[2] Gardner H. H. & Gardner B. D. (2012). Health as Human Capital: Theory and Implications. A New Management Paradigm. Retrieved from: http://www.hcmsgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/WP01-HHC-Theory-and-Implications-2012-01-161.pdf.
[3] Goettler A., Grosse A., Sonntag D. Productivity Loss Due to Overweight and Obesity: A Systematic Review of Indirect Costs (2017). BMJ Open; 7:e014632. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-014632.
[4] Hayman S. The Relationship between Health Risk and Workplace Productivity in Saudi Arabia. (2016). Retrieved from:https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4137&context=dissertations.
[5] Al – Hazzaa H. M. Rising trends in BMI of Saudi Adolescents: Evidence from Three National Cross Sectional Studies (2007). Asia Pac J ClinNutr; 16 (3):462-6.
[6] Hruby A. & Frank B. Hu. The Epidemiology of Obesity: A Big Picture (2015). Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4859313/.
[7] Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare. Retrieved from: http://www.jhah.com/about-JHAH.aspx.
[8] Mattke S., Liu H., Caloyeras J., Huang Ch. Y., Van Busum K. R., Khodyakov D., & Shier V. (2013). Workplace Wellness Programs Study. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4945172/.
[9] Al Othanimeen Al, Al – Nozha M., Osman Ak. Obesity an Emerging Problem in Saudi Arabia; Analysis of data from National Nutrition Survey (2007). East Mediterranean Health Journal; 13 (2): 441-8.
[10] Saudi Aramco (2018). Retrieved from: http://www.saudiaramco.com/en/home/about/who-we-are.html.
[11] The University of California, Los Angeles (2018). Retrieved from: http://www.ucla.edu/about/history.
[12] The UCLA Recreation FITWELL Program (2018). Retrieved from: https://www.recreation.ucla.edu/fitwell.
[13] U. S. Department of Health and Human Services (2012). Retrieved from:https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-statistics/overweight-obesity.
[14] World Economic Forum. The Global Competitiveness Report (2012 – 2013). Retrieved from: http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GlobalCompetitivenessReport_2012-13.pdf.
[15] World Health Organization. Country Cooperation Strategy for WHO and Saudi Arabia (2012-2016). Retrieved from: http://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/113227.
[16] World Health Organization. Obesity; Preventing and Managing the Global Epidemic. Report of a WHO Consultation on Obesity (2007). Geneva: World Health Organization.
[17] World Health Organization. Nutrition in Adolescence: Issues and Challenges for the Health Sector (2004). Geneva: World Health Organization.
[18] World Health Organization. Body Mass Index Global Database on Body Mass Index (2006). Retrieved from: http://www.assessmentpsychology.com/icbmi.htm.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Alexander Woodman, Nizar Jaoua. (2018). Obesity Among Male Employees at Saudi Aramco: Trends, Factors, and Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare Recommendations. American Journal of Internal Medicine, 6(4), 73-81. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajim.20180604.15

    Copy | Download

    ACS Style

    Alexander Woodman; Nizar Jaoua. Obesity Among Male Employees at Saudi Aramco: Trends, Factors, and Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare Recommendations. Am. J. Intern. Med. 2018, 6(4), 73-81. doi: 10.11648/j.ajim.20180604.15

    Copy | Download

    AMA Style

    Alexander Woodman, Nizar Jaoua. Obesity Among Male Employees at Saudi Aramco: Trends, Factors, and Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare Recommendations. Am J Intern Med. 2018;6(4):73-81. doi: 10.11648/j.ajim.20180604.15

    Copy | Download

  • @article{10.11648/j.ajim.20180604.15,
      author = {Alexander Woodman and Nizar Jaoua},
      title = {Obesity Among Male Employees at Saudi Aramco: Trends, Factors, and Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare Recommendations},
      journal = {American Journal of Internal Medicine},
      volume = {6},
      number = {4},
      pages = {73-81},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajim.20180604.15},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajim.20180604.15},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajim.20180604.15},
      abstract = {The purpose of this primary data analysis is to estimate the prevalence of obesity in a specific workplace in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The information would then be used to predict the prevalence of obesity among the male workforce of Saudi Aramco, the largest oil company in the world. A total of N=1,000 male employees (883Saudis, 117non-Saudis), aged 19-65, participated. They were randomly selected from several male Saudi Aramco stations and were asked to take a survey. Chi-square test was used to measure the significance effect of some independent variables on the BMI status. The overall prevalence was estimated, with a confidence level of 95%, at 22.5±2.6% for obesity, 36.7±3% for overweight, and 1±0.6% for underweight. The figures highly depended on the region where they spent their childhood, their age, nationality, and amount of exercise performed per week. For instance, 27.4±4.2% of those who grew up in the Eastern Province were estimated to be obese (vs. 16.5±3.5% among those raised elsewhere in KSA), and 28.7±5% of those who rarely exercise (less than 1 hour per week) were considered obese (vs. 17.8±4.1% among those who work out for at least 3 hours per week). As a result, a logistic model, involving these factors, was used for future prediction. For example, non-Saudis would be about 2.3 times more likely to be obese, and those aged 30-39 would be about 1.9 times more likely to be obese compared to “under 30” and “50 or more” age groups and 1.7 times more likely to be so than those aged 40-49. In addition, the lowest and highest conditional probabilities of obesity relative to this model were determined (6.6% and 66.4%). As a result, the likeliest male employees to be obese; the non-Saudi ones, raised in the Easter Province, aged 30-39 and exercise very little (less than 1h/w), would actually have more than two chances in three to be obese. Based on relatively concerning figures about obesity in male employees of Saudi Aramco, this paper recommends workplace wellness program model to improve the health of employees and their productivity, by creating an atmosphere of health and care for their well-being.},
     year = {2018}
    }
    

    Copy | Download

  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Obesity Among Male Employees at Saudi Aramco: Trends, Factors, and Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare Recommendations
    AU  - Alexander Woodman
    AU  - Nizar Jaoua
    Y1  - 2018/08/07
    PY  - 2018
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajim.20180604.15
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajim.20180604.15
    T2  - American Journal of Internal Medicine
    JF  - American Journal of Internal Medicine
    JO  - American Journal of Internal Medicine
    SP  - 73
    EP  - 81
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2330-4324
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajim.20180604.15
    AB  - The purpose of this primary data analysis is to estimate the prevalence of obesity in a specific workplace in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The information would then be used to predict the prevalence of obesity among the male workforce of Saudi Aramco, the largest oil company in the world. A total of N=1,000 male employees (883Saudis, 117non-Saudis), aged 19-65, participated. They were randomly selected from several male Saudi Aramco stations and were asked to take a survey. Chi-square test was used to measure the significance effect of some independent variables on the BMI status. The overall prevalence was estimated, with a confidence level of 95%, at 22.5±2.6% for obesity, 36.7±3% for overweight, and 1±0.6% for underweight. The figures highly depended on the region where they spent their childhood, their age, nationality, and amount of exercise performed per week. For instance, 27.4±4.2% of those who grew up in the Eastern Province were estimated to be obese (vs. 16.5±3.5% among those raised elsewhere in KSA), and 28.7±5% of those who rarely exercise (less than 1 hour per week) were considered obese (vs. 17.8±4.1% among those who work out for at least 3 hours per week). As a result, a logistic model, involving these factors, was used for future prediction. For example, non-Saudis would be about 2.3 times more likely to be obese, and those aged 30-39 would be about 1.9 times more likely to be obese compared to “under 30” and “50 or more” age groups and 1.7 times more likely to be so than those aged 40-49. In addition, the lowest and highest conditional probabilities of obesity relative to this model were determined (6.6% and 66.4%). As a result, the likeliest male employees to be obese; the non-Saudi ones, raised in the Easter Province, aged 30-39 and exercise very little (less than 1h/w), would actually have more than two chances in three to be obese. Based on relatively concerning figures about obesity in male employees of Saudi Aramco, this paper recommends workplace wellness program model to improve the health of employees and their productivity, by creating an atmosphere of health and care for their well-being.
    VL  - 6
    IS  - 4
    ER  - 

    Copy | Download

Author Information
  • Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University & Saudi Commission for Health Specialties, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia

  • Department of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia

  • Sections