Relationship between pediatric adiposity and cardiovascular risk factors in Saudi children and adolescents.

BACKGROUND: The etiology of childhood obesity is growing at alarming rates in developed and developing countries. The aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors (hypertension, dyslipidemia, and hyperglycemia) in a sample of Saudi children and to assess their association with different measures of body adiposity. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted of 200 Saudi children, who were randomly selected from the pediatric clinics at King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Anthropometric variables were measured for all study subjects. Fasting blood samples were collected for measurement of blood glucose, insulin, and lipid profile. RESULTS: Almost half of the study population was overweight and one tenth was obese according to body mass index levels, irrespective of sex. The prevalence of central obesity was higher using the waist-height ratio as opposed to waist circumference and this was true for both sexes. Significantly higher means levels of glucose, insulin, and lipids (P<0.0001 in all) were seen among overweight and obese children than their lean counterparts. All obesity measures in children were significantly associated with cardiovascular risk factors. CONCLUSION: The severity of overall and abdominal obesity in Saudi children is associated with a higher prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors, with the relationship strength varying by sex.

Dietary intake of fatty acids and antioxidants in relation to radiographic knee osteoarthritis: results from a case-control study.

BACKGROUND: The present study aimed to investigate levels of nutrient intakes, including dietary antioxidant quality (DAQ) score, among Saudi females with and without knee osteoarthritis (OA). We also aimed to examine the relationship between nutrient intakes and knee OA severity. METHODS: One hundred female participants with symptomatic primary knee OA were matched for age with 100 apparently healthy females and were sequentially recruited from the Orthopaedics Department, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Saudi Arabia, in a case-control study design. Radiographic disease severity of OA was assessed by the Kellgren-Lawrence grading system. Symptomatic severity was evaluated according to the Western Ontario McMaster University Osteoarthritis scores. Dietary intake was assessed using a prevalidated food frequency questionnaire. The DAQ score was calculated considering the risk of an inadequate intake (<2/3 reference nutrient intake) for selenium, zinc, vitamins A, C and E. RESULTS: A higher intake of saturated fatty acids [15.4 (0.3) as a mean (SD) percentage of energy supplied] and monounsaturated fatty acids [16.6 (0.2) as a percentage of energy supplied] than the recommendations was evident among the study population. OA patients consume less antioxidants than non-OA subjects as determined by their DAQ score [8.41 (0.1) versus 9.17 (0.1), P < 0.0001]. After adjusting for potential confounders, DAQ score, and monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, most of the micronutrient intakes were found to be negatively associated with the prevalence of radiographic knee OA. CONCLUSIONS: Dietary antioxidants could be implicated in the development and progression of knee OA. Modifying dietary fatty acids may be one way of reducing the development and subsequent burden of knee OA.