A Scoping Review of the Biological, Socioeconomic, and Environmental Determinants of Overweight and Obesity among Middle Eastern and Northern African Nationalities

Globally, and particularly in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, obesity and overweight have become serious public health concerns. The objective of this scoping review is to identify and summarize the available data on the determinants of overweight and obesity among MENA nationalities. An extensive search was conducted of electronic databases, including Google Scholar, PUBMED, and PROQUEST, for articles published from 2007 until 2022. Ten articles of the 333 that were found in the original search after filtering met the requirements for inclusion. Data extraction and quality assessment were applied to each of the selected studies. A thorough synthesis of the factors influencing overweight and obesity in MENA nationalities is provided by this scoping review. The results show the intricate interplay of anthropometric, behavioral, sociodemographic, and environmental factors that cause overweight and obesity in this population. Keywords: Overweight; Obesity; Body Mass Index; Oman.