Open AccessThe increasing trend in the body mass index of Qatari adolescents 2003–2009
Author(s) -
Kari Beinnes Fosse,
Christine Rootwelt,
Amjad Tuffaha,
Hana Said,
Amy L. Sandridge,
Ibrahim Janahi,
Lars O. Hedin,
Naser Elkum,
William Greer
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
qscience connect
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2223-506X
DOI - 10.5339/connect.2019.1
Subject(s) - overweight , body mass index , obesity , demography , medicine , population , public health , adolescent obesity , pediatrics , gerontology , environmental health , nursing , pathology , sociology
Background: Although obesity is an increasing public health problem throughout the Arabian Peninsula, only a few comprehensive population-based studies have been published in Qatar. In particular, there is a dearth of published information on the increasing body mass index (BMI) of the most vulnerable Qatari sub-population – adolescents. This paper partially addresses this omission by documenting the BMI status of Qatari youth in 2008/2009; it also highlights the changes in BMI that occurred during the first decade of this century, when local risk factors were significantly increasing. Methods: Using a simple random sampling approach, adolescents were selected from a pool of Qatari children attending government schools in Qatar. This resulted in a comprehensive dataset of height and BMI for 705 boys and girls aged 12–17 years. Results: The overall prevalence of Qatari adolescents who were overweight/obese in 2008–2009 was 19.9%/26.7% (boys) and 23.2%/17.2% (girls). This represents a change in the prevalence of overweight/obesity of − 8.7%/+18.8 (boys) and +4.3%/+12.1% (girls) during the time between these studies. Conclusions: BMI increased substantially during the last decade, leading to a corresponding increase in the prevalence of adolescent obesity. These results demonstrate that regular monitoring of the BMI status of the Qatari adolescent population provides valuable predictors for adults.