Obesity is an increasing health problem in developing countries and has grown into a major global epidemic. Recent studies suggest that colonization of the stomach with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) may affect gastric expression of appetite and satiety-related hormones, finding that patients cured of H. pylori infection have gained weight. Further exploration of the relationship between obesity and H. pylori infection is therefore warranted. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of H. pylori infection in a sample of obese patients. A total of 69 obese females and 55 normal-weight females as a control group were included. Body mass indices (BMI) of all females were measured and tests for H. pylori performed. Subjects ranged in age from 20 to 59 years. The threshold for classification of obesity was a BMI of 30 kg/m² or higher. Fifty obese females (72.5%) were H. pylori positive. Thirty-two (58.2%) normal-weight females were seropositive for H. pylori, which was not significant (p > 0.05) when compared with obese group. All the obese above 45 years of age were found to be H. pylori positive. The study showed that there was no significant relation between H. pylori infection and obesity. Rather, the prevalence of H. pylori infection increases with age.
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