Comparison of the body compositions in obese and nonobese individuals: Can learning body compositions motivate losing weight?

Background: Obesity is one of the leading preventable causes of death worldwide. Objective: To compare body compositions in obese and nonobese individuals. Methods: This cross-sectional study constituted of 428 individuals. Body compositions were determined using the Tanita. Results: Of all the participants, 300 (70.1%) were female. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 30.8% and 47.7%, respectively. Having low educational level, female gender, not working, being married, and nonsmoker significantly increased more in obese than nonobese (P < 0.001). Total body water, visceral fat accumulation, body mass index, resting metabolic rate, fat-free mass, bone mass, and muscle mass were significantly higher in obese when compared to those with nonobese (P < 0.001). Thirteen percent of the participants were thinking of changing their diet and lifestyle to lose weight at the beginning. After learning their body compositions, the rate increased to 60% who decided to modify their lifestyle and asked for help to lose weight. This behavior change was significant in especially the overweighted participants (P = 0.025). Conclusion: The changes in body composition are associated with obesity and increased risk for certain cancers, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus. Learning the health risks can motivate losing weight. Multicentered studies can be illuminating different cultural factors about obesity.