Page 111 - merged

S014-1

Elucidating Lifestyle Risk Factors for Obesity in Schizophrenia

Jimmy Lee

Department of General Psychiatry 1, Institute of Mental Health, Singapore

Background/Objective: Increasing rates of obesity and cardiometabolic risks in schizophrenia have
been consistently reported. Besides antipsychotics, both poor dietary choices and a sedentary
lifestyle have been reported as risk factors for obesity. However, evidence to support the
non-pharmacological risk factors has been scarce.

Method: In the present study, we surveyed the dietary preferences and physical activity of a sample
of community-dwelling patients with schizophrenia to examine differences between the obese and
non-obese groups. Dietary pattern was assessed using the Dietary Preference Questionnaire; a
31-item questionnaire developed by the Health Promotion Board in Singapore and was used in the
nation-wide surveys. Physical activity was gathered using the General Physical Activity
Questionnaire (GPAQ) and assesses time spent on physical activities on a typical day. It was
developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) to monitor physical inactivity as a modifiable
risk factor for various noncommunicable diseases.

Result: Of the 105 recruited in this study, 32 (30.5%) were found to be obese (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2).
There was a higher frequency of metabolic comorbidities and alcohol use in patients who were obese.
There were no differences in age, gender, smoking, duration of illness and rates of atypical
antipsychotic prescription between the obese and non-obese groups. We found a higher frequency of
unhealthy dietary choices such as deep fried foods and fast foods in the diets of obese patients with
schizophrenia. Contrary to commonly held perception, there was no significant difference in time
spent on sedentary activities between the two groups.

Conclusion: Our study suggests that dietary habits rather than physical inactivity are related to
obesity in schizophrenia. Understanding these factors is important in the development of appropriate
lifestyle interventions to combat the rising tide of obesity in schizophrenia.