Some Socioeconomic Factors and Lifestyle Habits Influencing the Prevalence of Obesity among Adolescent Male Students in the Hail Region of Saudi Arabia
Awfa Y. Alazzeh,
Eyad M. AlShammari,
Majdi M. Smadi,
Firas S. Azzeh,
Bandar T. AlShammari,
Suneetha Epuru,
Shahidah Banu,
Rafia Bano,
Shadi Sulaiman,
Jerold C. Alcantara,
Syed A. Ashraf,
Samir Qiblawi
Affiliations
Awfa Y. Alazzeh
Department of Clinical Nutrition, College of Applied Medical Sciences, University of Hail, P.O. Box 2440, Hail 55462, Saudi Arabia
Eyad M. AlShammari
Department of Clinical Nutrition, College of Applied Medical Sciences, University of Hail, P.O. Box 2440, Hail 55462, Saudi Arabia
Majdi M. Smadi
Department of Clinical Nutrition, College of Applied Medical Sciences, University of Hail, P.O. Box 2440, Hail 55462, Saudi Arabia
Firas S. Azzeh
Department of Clinical Nutrition, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah 24231, Saudi Arabia
Bandar T. AlShammari
Department of Clinical Nutrition, College of Applied Medical Sciences, University of Hail, P.O. Box 2440, Hail 55462, Saudi Arabia
Suneetha Epuru
Department of Clinical Nutrition, College of Applied Medical Sciences, University of Hail, P.O. Box 2440, Hail 55462, Saudi Arabia
Shahidah Banu
Department of Clinical Nutrition, College of Applied Medical Sciences, University of Hail, P.O. Box 2440, Hail 55462, Saudi Arabia
Rafia Bano
Department of Clinical Nutrition, College of Applied Medical Sciences, University of Hail, P.O. Box 2440, Hail 55462, Saudi Arabia
Shadi Sulaiman
Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, University of Hail, Hail 55462, Saudi Arabia
Jerold C. Alcantara
Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, University of Hail, Hail 55462, Saudi Arabia
Syed A. Ashraf
Department of Clinical Nutrition, College of Applied Medical Sciences, University of Hail, P.O. Box 2440, Hail 55462, Saudi Arabia
Samir Qiblawi
Department of Histopathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Hail, Hail 55462, Saudi Arabia
A cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate the effect of some socioeconomic factors and lifestyle habits on the prevalence of obesity among adolescent male students in the Hail region, Saudi Arabia. A questionnaire was filled by 1495 male adolescents distributed among 12 schools in the Hail region. Body weight and height were taken, and the Z-score of students was measured using Anthroplus software with a cutoff 1–2 and +2 standard deviations to determine overweight and obesity, respectively. The study revealed that 21.3% of students were overweight and 27% were obese, respectively. There was a negative association between family size of >8 and obesity (OR: 0.68, CI: 0.48–0.92, p = 0.05). Family income of <5000 SR was negatively associated with obesity (OR: 0.59, CI: 0.36–0.97, p = 0.03). Whether a subject’s mother worked (odds ratio (OR): 1.43, confidence interval CI: 1.03–1.99, p = 0.03) as well as the subject’s mother’s education—whether she can read and write, has a middle school degree, or has done postsecondary studies—were positively associated with obesity. Exercise, regardless of the duration, was negatively associated with obesity. In addition, sleeping <6 h/day had a positive association with obesity. Conclusion: a >8 family size and a low family income were negatively associated with obesity, while having an educated and working mother was positively associated with obesity.
