Obesity among female school children in North West Riyadh in relation to affluent lifestyle

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalence of obesity among elementary school female students and to identify some obesity-associated risk factors.

METHODS: This cross-sectional study surveyed healthy female school students (grades 4-6) during 2006-2007. Four private schools in North West Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia were selected where the majority of high income families enrolled their daughters. One thousand and two hundred students were included. A pre-designed validated questionnaire was used for data collection. Weights and heights were measured, and the body mass index (BMI) was calculated. Students were categorized into obese and non-obese according to BMI by age scale.

RESULTS: A total of 1072 students participated in the study with a response rate of 89.3%. Obesity was prevalent among 14.9% of students. We observed that the proportion of obese students inversely increased by age and schooling grade (p<0.001). Ninety-five percent of the students living in villas or big houses were obese. Approximately 89.2% admitted that they are performing some exercises; however, 13.8% of them were obese. Consuming fast food and soft drinks were common practiced among obese students. Watching television on daily basis was prevalent among 97.5% of obese students.

CONCLUSION: The existence of obesity promoting factors, calls for integrating interventions at family and school level to match changes in social and cultural context. Awareness is needed to enhance healthy lifestyle.