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Objective: To describe body mass index (BMI), waist circumference and waist-hip ratio in a Palestinian West Bank village population, and to assess the associations of these variables to blood pressure and serum lipids. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Community-based study in a prototypic semi-rural Palestinian village in the central West Bank. Subjects: All individuals aged 30–65 y in the study village were invited for the study and 500 (85%) participated. Main outcome measures: BMI≥30 was used as the measure of obesity. Results: The prevalence of obesity was 37.5% among women and 18.8% among men. The prevalence of abdominal obesity was 62.5% among women and 14.8% among men. BMI seemed to be the more important correlate of blood pressure whereas waist–hip ratio seemed to be the more important correlate of serum triglycerides, compared to the other obesity measures. Conclusions: The prevalence of obesity in the study population was very high compared to most other countries in the world, particularly among women. Sponsorship: The study was funded by the Norwegian Universities' Committee for Development Research (NUFU). LCM Stene was supported by a grant from the Throne Holst Foundation. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2001) 55, 805–811

Objective To describe the food consumption patterns in relation to wealth status and age groups in a Palestinian West Bank village population. Design Community-based cross-sectional survey of both households and individuals. A list recall method was used at the household level. At the individual level, a short food-frequency questionnaire was used in addition to a 24-h recall without estimates of portion sizes. Setting A Palestinian semi-rural village in the central West Bank. Subjects All households and all men and women aged 30-65 y in the study village were invited. All 368 households and 85% (n=500) of eligible individuals participated. Results The mean energy consumption from 25 selected food items on household level was about 13.8 MJ (3300 kcal)/consumption unit/d (a consumption unit corresponds to the expected energy requirement for an adult male). The proportion of dietary energy from fat and the consumption of most animal products was highest among the wealthiest households, and the opposite trend was seen for the consumption of wheat flour and lentils. There seems to be an ongoing trend of increasing consumption of processed products rich in sugar among the younger age groups. Conclusion Shortage of dietary energy on the household level did not seem to be a problem in this population, even among the poorest. Differences in food consumption patterns between the poor and the wealthy, including a higher percentage of energy from fat among the wealthy, may be to the disadvantage of the wealthy with respect to some diet-related chronic diseases. Sponsorship The Norwegian Universities' Committee for Development Research (NUFU).