Evaluation of health status of individuals consuming local cuisine in Gaziantep

Gaziantep is one of the oldest settlements, but also one of the places where it is cultivated. It is on a geography where many trade routes pass and many civilizations move to the sea. This location has contributed to the increase of Gaziantep's wideness and variety in food making. This variety of food has also created differences in nutritional status and the aim of this study is to evaluate the health status of individuals who consume Gaziantep local cuisine dishes. Our study was carried out with the participation of 400 (M:26.7% F:73.3%) individuals. 55.8% of individuals have chronic diseases. All individuals consume local cuisine dishes; however, 73.2% of the individuals mostly preferred the local cuisine dishes in their meals, while 26.8% of the individuals stated that they preferred fast food more. The body mass indeks (BMI), waist circumference, hip circumference, neck circumference values of the individuals who generally prefer fast food are higher than those who prefer local cuisine dishes. All of these values are statistically significant (p<0.05). When the body composition is examined; Fat mass, fat percentage and metabolic age are higher in those who prefer fast food, while muscle mass and muscle percentage are higher than those who prefer local cuisine dishes. The majority of individuals who prefer local cuisine dishes are in the normal BMI range. The rate of being obese is higher in those who prefer fast food (p<0.05). Individuals who prefer fast food are more than normal in terms of waist circumference and neck circumference compared to those who prefer local cuisine, and these results are statistically significant (p<0.05). As a result, nutritional status of individuals who eat mainly Gaziantep cuisine are in a better condition than those who eat fast food, but obesity is common in both groups. The public should be made aware of this situation and local policies should be developed. Keywords: Anthropometry, Nutrition, Obesity, Gaziantep, Cuisine