Prevalence and correlates of overweight status among Saudi school children.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: There are limited data on changes in the prevalence of overweight among the Saudi school children and on associated risk factors. We compared recent prevalence data (2012) with early data (1994-98) and assessed risk factors. DESIGN AND SETTING: Data from a cross-sectional study of children in primary schools in two cities in Al-Qassim province. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Parental questionnaires were used to collect sociodemographic data and informa.tion on the child's diet/exercise behavior. Children's weight and height were measured. Current and previous data on overweight prevalence were compared and risk factors were assessed in a multiple logistic regression model. RESULTS: The sample consisted of 874 randomly chosen school children, aged 6-10 years; analysis was based on 601 with complete data. Current overweight prevalence was 16.9% and was higher in girls than in boys (29.7% vs. 11.7%, P value < .0001). Prevalence has risen in the last 15 years (overall: 16.9% vs. 10.1%; boys: 11.7% vs. 8.5%; girls: 29.7% vs. 11.5%; all P values < .05). Those who ate restaurant food >=2 times/week were 2.4 times more likely (95% CI=1.26, 4.64) to be overweight and those who engaged in sports >=2 hours/day were 0.5 times less likely to be overweight (95% CI=0.25, 1.20). CONCLUSION: The overweight prevalence in primary school children in Saudi Arabia has risen significantly. The focus should be on developing obesity prevention programs for this population.

Concordance of obesity classification between body mass index and percent body fat among school children in Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND: In Saudi Arabia, where childhood obesity is a major public health issue, it is important to identify the best tool for obesity classification. Hence, we compared two field methods for their usefulness in epidemiological studies. METHODS: The sample consisted of 874 primary school (grade I-IV) children, aged 6-10 years, and was obtained through a multi-stage random sampling procedure. Weight and height were measured, and BMI (kg/m(2)) was calculated. Percent body fat was determined with a Futrex analyzer that uses near infrared reactance (NIR) technology. Method specific cut-off values were used for obesity classification. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values were determined for BMI, and the agreement between BMI and percent body fat was calculated. RESULTS: Compared to boys, the mean BMI was higher in girls whereas the mean percent body fat was lower (p-values < 0.0001). According to BMI, the prevalence of overweight or obesity was significantly higher in girls (34.3% vs. 17.3%); as oppose to percent body fat, which was similar between the sexes (6.6% vs. 7.0%). The sensitivity of BMI to classify overweight or obesity was high (boys = 93%, girls = 100%); and its false-positive detection rate was also high (boys = 63%, girls = 81%). The agreement rate was low between these two methods (boys = 0.48, girls =0.24). CONCLUSIONS: There is poor agreement in obesity classification between BMI and percent body fat, using NIR method, among Saudi school children.