TYPE Original Research PUBLISHED 23 February 2023 DOI 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1129797 OPEN ACCESS EDITED BY Filip Kukic, Police Sports Education Centre, United Arab Emirates REVIEWED BY Stevo Popovic, University of Montenegro, Montenegro Ezequiel Pinto, University of Algarve, Portugal Peter Stoepker, Kansas State University, United States *CORRESPONDENCE Le Ma male@mail.xjtu.edu.cn Mao Ma mamao2007@163.com Zhaozhao Hui huizhaozhao93@163.com SPECIALTY SECTION This article was submitted to Public Health and Nutrition, a section of the journal Frontiers in Public Health RECEIVED 22 December 2022 ACCEPTED 01 February 2023 PUBLISHED 23 February 2023 CITATION Younis J, Jiang H, Fan Y, Wang L, Li Z, Jebril M, Ma M, Ma L, Ma M and Hui Z (2023) Prevalence of overweight, obesity, and associated factors among healthcare workers in the Gaza Strip, Palestine: A cross-sectional study. Front. Public Health 11:1129797. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1129797 COPYRIGHT © 2023 Younis, Jiang, Fan, Wang, Li, Jebril, Ma, Ma, Ma and Hui. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. Prevalence of overweight, obesity, and associated factors among healthcare workers in the Gaza Strip, Palestine: A cross-sectional study Joma Younis 1,2 , Hong Jiang 1 , Yahui Fan 1 , Lina Wang 1 , Zhaofang Li 1 , Majed Jebril 2 , Mei Ma 1 , Le Ma 1 *, Mao Ma 3 * and Zhaozhao Hui 1 * 1 School of Public Health, Xi’an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, Xi’an, China, 2 Al-Rantisi Pediatric Specialized Hospital, Ministry of Health, Gaza, Palestine, 3 The First Affiliated Hospital, Xi’an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, Xi’an, China Background: Overweight and obesity are multifactorial conditions that are prevalent in developing and developed countries. They are emerging as a significant public health concern among healthcare workers (HCWs). We aimed to estimate the prevalence of overweight and obesity and their associated factors among HCWs in the Gaza Strip. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to recruit 1,850 HCWs aged 22 years and older. Interviews were carried out to collect sociodemographic information, nutritional information, and physical activity. Anthropometric measurements [height, weight, and waist circumference] were conducted with the HCWs. The body mass index was computed to determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity. Chi-square, t-test, and one-way ANOVA were used to compare the variables, and logistic regression was used to examine the associated factors of overweight and obesity. Results: The combined prevalence of overweight and obesity among HCWs was 65%. The result of logistic regression showed the risk of being overweight and obesity increased within the age group of 40–49 years (OR = 3.20; 95% CI: 2.37– 4.32; P < 0.001). Male participants had more risk of obesity than female participants (OR = 1.77; 95% CI: 1.45–2.15). Married participants had a significantly higher risk of being overweight and obese (OR = 2.52; 95% CI: 2.05–3.28; P = 0.001). Increased monthly income was significantly associated with the risk of being overweight and obese (OR = 2.16; 95% CI: 1.22–3.83; P = 0.008). In addition, hypertension (OR = 2.49; 95% CI: 1.65–3.78; P < 0.001) and type 2 diabetes (OR = 2.42; 95% CI: 1.21–4.85; P= 0.012) were associated with overweight and obesity. Finally, a family history of NCDs was associated with overweight and obesity (OR = 1.69; 95% CI: 1.38–2.07; P < 0.001). Conclusion: This study showed a high prevalence of overweight and obesity among HCWs. Age, monthly income, marital status, known hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and eating habits were associated with the prevalence of overweight and obesity compared to other variables that were not associated with overweight and obesity such as profession, vegetables, fruit consumption, and physical activity. Urgent action is needed to tackle overweight and obesity among HCWs. KEYWORDS overweight, obesity, healthcare workers, prevalence, Gaza Strip-Palestine Frontiers in Public Health 01 frontiersin.org