• Two third of those keen to reduce weight are concerned about obesity. The remaining are motivated by medical reasons.

• Women are more concerned about obesity than men.

• Reduced Fats (38%) Reduced Food quantity (37%) and Exercise (20%) are seen as principal methods for weight control in that order: Gallup Survey

According to a recent survey by Gallup Pakistan 22% of Pakistani adult men and women said they had lately taken some steps for reducing their weight. The figure is higher among women than men. It is also higher among the upper income groups. The survey was conducted among a national sample of men and women in both rural and urban areas of all the four provinces of the country. They represented a statistical cross section of various age, income and social strata of the society. According to the survey findings 28% of women and 17% of men said they had adopted some steps for controlling their weight.

 The major motivation for diet control was a concern about being overweight, as 66% or two third gave that response. The remaining one third (34%) of the respondents were motivated by various medical reasons. The highest medical reason quoted by the respondents was “to control cholesterol”, 11% gave this response. It was followed by “diabetics” as a reason to control weight and another 18% gave the general response that they were advised by the doctor to control weight. The remaining 2% gave miscellaneous responses. The motivation to control diet for reducing their weight was higher among women than men as nearly 75% gave this reason. Among men concern about cholesterol was noticeably higher (16%) compared to women (3%).

 This survey was part of Gallup lifestyle studies focusing on Eating Habits. Those who practiced weight control measures or “dieting” as it is usually referred to in local usage, were asked: “What is the one most important method which you use for weight control?” Responding to this 37% said they had reduced the total intake of their diet; 38% reduced fat content, 20% indicated physical exercise while the remaining 5% gave other miscellaneous responses.

 The survey was conducted by Gallup Pakistan, the Pakistani affiliate of Gallup International among more than 2500 statistically selected households in both urban and rural areas of all the four provinces of Pakistan. The sample comprised a cross section of various income, education and geographic segments.

[reproduced from http://www.gallup.com.pk/archives/nov5_2001.html]

Date/Time Last Modified: 6/18/2002 8:07:56 AM

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