Prevalence of Obesity Among Adolescents (10 to 14 Years) in Kuwait

Abstract

The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to find out the prevalence of obesity and overweight among intermediate school adolescents aged 10 to 14 years. The study comprised a multistage stratified random sample that included 5402 children (2657 males and 2745 females). They represent 12.7% of the total number of children between 10 and 14 years during the educational year 2005-2006. The weights and heights of adolescents were measured, from which the body mass index (BMI) was calculated, which is the weight in kilograms divided by the height in meters squared (kg/m(2)). BMI values higher than 95 percentile were accepted as being obese and those in between 85 and 94 percentile were accepted as overweight. Dietary intake was assessed by the investigators using food exchange lists designed by American Diabetic Association and physical fitness was measured by modified Harvard step test. Data regarding monthly income of the chosen sample were collected from parents of those children. The overall prevalence of overweight and obesity in adolescent Kuwaiti children aged 10 to 14 years was 30.7% and 14.6%, respectively. The overall prevalence of overweight and obesity among males was 29.3% and 14.9%, respectively (P < .001) and the prevalence of overweight and obesity among females was 32.1% and 14.2%, respectively (P < .001). High daily caloric intake by the obese and overweight children and physical inactivity was reported among the majority of them. Health education programs should be conducted to control this syndrome in order to prevent future risk of obesity-related disease, and physical activity programs should be incorporated in the schools. Any management plan for overweight and obese children should include 3 major components: diets, exercise, and family-based behavior and they should not be placed on restrictive diets because adequate calories are needed for proper growth.

Prevalence and Correlates of Overweight and Obesity among School Children in Sohag, Egypt

“…On the other hand, our results were much lower than [13] in Kuwait. Concerning the prevalence of obesity, our results were in agreement with [10] [11], but it was higher than [9] [12] and [13]. Apart from Kuwait, all of these studies showed nearly similar rates of overweight, while the prevalence of obesity showed marked variation.…”

Evidence for nutrition transition in Kuwait: over-consumption of macronutrients and obesity

“…Kuwait has the highest childhood overweight problem among the Gulf countries and obesity is reportedly on the rise (2) . El-Bayoumy et al (8) reported that 30?7 % and 14?6 % of children between the ages of 10 and 14 years were overweight and obese, respectively; while 43?3 % and 21?3 % of children between 14 and 19 years of age were overweight and obese, respectively (7) .Before the discovery of oil, Kuwait's food supply was limited. Available foods consisted mainly of rice, dates, seafood, camel milk, sheep and goat meat and their by-products (9) .…”

Waist circumference percentiles for Kuwaiti children and adolescents

“…On account of lifestyle changes associated with the transition in nutrition in the Arabian Gulf, resulting principally from rising incomes associated with the discovery and production of oil over the past few decades, obesity has increased dramatically (9,10) . El Bayoumy et al (11) found that the overall prevalence of overweight and *Corresponding author: Email bojack@umd.edu r The Authors 2010 obesity among men was 29?3 % and 14?9 %, respectively, (P , 0?001) and the prevalence of overweight and obesity among women was 32?1 % and 14?2 %, respectively (P , 0?001). Studies have shown that with new affluence has come increased availability of fast-food restaurants and ready availability of other semi-fast food establishments in all Gulf countries, including Kuwait (9,12) .…”