Growth pattern among primary school entrants in King Abdul-Aziz Housing City for National Guard in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

OBJECTIVE: To provide information on nutritional status of primary school entrants at King Abdul-Aziz Housing City for National Guard in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and compare it with national and international studies of anthropometric data on weight and height.

METHODS: A cross-sectional study carried out at the School Health Clinic in King Abdul-Aziz Housing City for National Guard in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The study population comprised 6207 children aged 4-8 years from both sexes attending the obligatory pre-school health examination for years 2003-2005. Weight, height, and demographic data were collected according to international standards and the body mass index (BMI) calculated. The data were computer analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences and Anthro 2005 and compared to international references.

RESULTS: Obesity, defined as BMI <95th centile in our population was found to be 4%, which is less than the national and international references. This also applies to underweight, defined as Weight-for-Height Z score less than -2 SD, which was found to be 5.8%. While stunting, defined as height Z score less than -2 SD was higher than international references (5.9%).

CONCLUSION: Compared to national and international references, our population is more similar to the American reference population than the national population, with a healthier growth pattern that could be related to the nature of the less urbanized community, the policies limiting the fast food chains inside the housing city and the presumed higher physical activity of children in our population. Thus, we encourage the promotion of more health programs to preserve this healthy pattern, and the performance of more studies to help understand the nature of growth related factors in our community.