Awareness of morbid obesity as a risk factor for obesity-related cancers among Saudi morbid obese patients: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background and Aims: Obesity has become one of the most prevalent epidemic disorders worldwide. This study aimed to evaluate society's perception of the relationship between obesity and cancer. Settings and Design: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted targeting obese patients in Saudi Arabia, Targeting Saudi participants aged 18 years and older from August to October 2022. Methods: After having ethical approval, an online questionnaire was used for data collection. Statistical Analysis: Data was revised, coded and input to statistical software IBM SPSS version 22 (SPSS, Inc. Chicago, IL) after being extracted. Results: The study questionnaire was completed by 512 individuals in total. Almost 70% of the obese participants are not recognized themselves as obese. In contrast, only 20.5% of them believe that they are obese. Most participants are ready to treat obesity and 47.1% consider surgery to treat obesity. The most noted reasons for treating obesity among participants were to have a better lifestyle and diet. Only 11% of them considered cancer as a threat resulting from obesity. Conclusion: The study revealed that the vast majority of the obese participants knew that obesity is a health threat due to associated complications, including metabolic diseases. However, in our society, obesity is not often recognized as a risk. The factor for cancers. Thus, it's recommended that there is a need to increase the awareness and implantation of obesity prevention programs for patients prepared by healthcare providers.