Open AccessThe Prevalence of Obesity among School Students and its Relation to Dietary and Physical Habits
Author(s) -
Tariq A. Aljuaid,
Faisal M. Albaqami,
Hassan Alasmari,
Bassam A. Alzaidi,
Abdullah Alshehri,
Khalid Mohammed Alshehri,
Khaled Alswat
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
open access macedonian journal of medical sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.288
H-Index - 17
ISSN - 1857-9655
DOI - 10.3889/oamjms.2020.3424
Subject(s) - medicine , overweight , obesity , body mass index , sedentary lifestyle , socioeconomic status , demography , physical activity , cross sectional study , gerontology , physical therapy , environmental health , population , sociology , pathology
BACKGROUND: Recent studies suggest that unhealthy food practices and lack of exercise are the main cause of the progressive increase in the obesity prevalence.
AIM: We aim to assess the prevalence of obesity among school students and its relationship to dietary and physical habits.
METHODS: A cross-sectional study from 18 intermediate and high schools located in Taif, Saudi Arabia, between April 2014 and June 2015. We excluded any student with a psychological disease or chronic diseases. We calculated the body mass index (BMI) of students by measuring their height and weight. Dietary, physical, sleep habits, and socioeconomic status were assessed.
RESULTS: A total of 2943 students participated with a mean age of 15.4 ± 1.7 years. The majority of these were boys and attending government schools with a mean BMI 22.7 ± 8.6 kg/m2. Overall, 13.6% were overweight and 12.8% were obese. One-third of students report a sedentary lifestyle. Compared to girls, boys were more likely to have lower BMI (p 300 min/week (p 300 min/week (p < 0.001), and walk to and from school at least once weekly (p < 0.001).
CONCLUSION: A quarter of the students were either overweight or obese. Girls were more likely to be obese with less favorable socioeconomic, media consumption, dietary, and physical profiles.