Aim: To determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity among
patients attending oral and maxillofacial outpatient clinic of the
Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Nigeria; and discuss the clinical
and surgical implications that obesity has on the delivery of oral and
maxillofacial surgical and anaesthetic care. Methods: Consecutive
patients presenting to the oral and maxillofacial surgery outpatient
clinic at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Nigeria over a
4-month period (May-August 2004) were screened for age, sex, height and
weight. All of the patients were treated for dentoalveolar surgical
procedures (routine and surgical extractions), incisional and
excisional biopsies, and enucleation under local anaesthesia. Results:
The BMIs of the studied patients ranged from 16.7 to 39.8 kg/m2, with a
mean of 24.6 ± 4.5 kg/m2. Prevalence of excess weight was 39.1%.
Thirty-one (11.4%) patients were obese and 75 (27.7%) patients were
overweight. A significant difference was observed in the BMIs of male
and female patients (P=0.000). The age groups < 30 years had mean
BMIs that were considered normal; whereas other age groups above 30
years had mean BMIs that were considered overweight. Prevalence of
obesity increases with increasing age. Obese individuals were seen in
all the age groups except those < 20 years. Conculsions: The
prevalence of excess weight (overweight and obesity) in patients
presenting in the studied oral and maxillofacial outpatient setting was
39.1%. Oral and maxillofacial surgeon needs to be aware of
obesity-/overweight-related medical and surgical issues and take them
into consideration when treating these patients
