scholarly journals The Relationships of Watching Television, Computer Use, Physical Activity, and Food Preferences to Body Mass Index: Gender and Nativity Differences among Adolescents in Saudi Arabia

Author(s):  
Ahmad H. Alghadir ◽  
Zaheen A. Iqbal ◽  
Sami A. Gabr

Background: Adolescents and ethnic subgroups have been identified at high risks of overweight and its associated complications. Although some studies have investigated overweight, obesity, nutritional status, physical activity, and associated factors among Saudi students, no studies have examined these characteristics among non-Saudi students or compared non-Saudi to Saudi adolescent students. The objective of this study was to compare differences between Saudi and non-Saudi adolescent students regarding time spent watching television, using computers, engaging in physical activity, and their food preferences. The relationships between these lifestyle behaviors and body mass index by Saudi nativity and gender were tested. Methods: Students aged 12 to 18 years (n = 214) from various schools in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, completed a self-administered questionnaire that included questions about demographic and anthropometric characteristics, daily after-school routine, physical activity, watching television, using computers, and food preferences. Non-parametric (Mann–Whitney U) tests assessed the statistical differences between Saudi and non-Saudi respondents, and males and females were separately tested. Results: Saudi boys who reported physical activity two to five times per week, the most television time, the most computer time, and the highest frequency of eating fast food and drinking soft drinks had a significantly higher mean body mass index than the non-Saudi boys in their categories. However, there were no significant differences found between the Saudi and non-Saudi girls. Conclusions: High levels of sedentary and low levels of physical activities as well as high consumption of high-fat fast foods and high-sugar drinks threaten the health of Saudi adolescents. Cultural differences in lifestyle between Saudi and non-Saudi families should be considered when developing programs to improve knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors regarding diet quality and physical activity. The objective of this study is more important in the current situation where increased time spent on computers and mobile phones due to online teaching in schools or working from home, decreased physical activity due to precautionary lockdowns, and unchecked eating patterns while spending more time in sedentary activities in homes has become our COVID-19 pandemic lifestyle in all the age groups. A similar study should be replicated on a large scale to study the effect of this lifestyle on our lives in all the age groups.

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 205-210
Author(s):  
Malay Kumar Das ◽  
Rabindranath Sinha ◽  
Aparajita Dasgupta

Introduction: The World Health Organization has already warned of increasing non-communicable diseases among adolescents as a major public health problem. The importance of this age group also lies in the fact that many serious diseases in adulthood have their roots in adolescence. Method: A pre-designed and pre-tested questionnaire was used in class-room setting to collect information from students regarding presence of risk factors of non-communicable diseases. The respondents were also subjected to anthropometric measurements and blood pressure examination using standard operating procedures. Results: A total of 761 students of class VI-XII participated in the study of which 61.4% were boys and rests were girls. High blood pressure among boys and girls were 19.9% and 22.1% were respectively. In Bivariate analysis age > 15 years (median) (OR= 2.11), fast food intake (>3 times/week) (OR= 1.66), Alcohol consumption (OR= 2.22), less physical activity (OR=1.54), increased body mass index (OR=2.53), significantly associated with high blood pressure. In Multivariate analysis age (AOR= 2.25), fast food intake (AOR= 1.50), Alcohol consumption (OR= 2.23), less physical activity (AOR=1.71), increased body mass index (AOR=2.42) remains significant predictor. Conclusion: Detecting the risk factors of high blood pressure prevalent in the population is of utmost importance to achieve a healthy population. Formulation and dissemination of need--based, culturally acceptable and age appropriate scientific messages for school students should be conducted more proactively. Keywords: Adolescents, Blood pressure, Risk factor, Rural school.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 148-161
Author(s):  
Lorik Ramaj ◽  
Sadete Hasani

The purpose of this paper was to determine the level of physical activity and healthy nutrition in children aged 3-6 years from Mitrovica. The research was attended by 94 children aged 3 - 6 years from two kindergartens in Mitrovica. As a parameter that measured the weight and height of the children,  it was calculated with the standardized procedure of Body Mass Index (BMI)  then was calculated according to the standard formula used by (Betterhealth, 2016). Also, after extracting other information through the questionnaire, a quantitative research was conducted through the parents of 94 children who were part of the measurements. A questionnaire was used to collect the data, which was previously translated and adapted into Albanian with permission to use it. The questionnaire was combined by three different questionnaires such as: the lifestyle questionnaire (Wilson et al., 2008), the physical activity questionnaire Pre-PAQ test (Dwyer et al., 2011) and the nutrition questionnaire (Rysha et al., 2017). The data collected during the research were placed in the statistical program SPSS version 21.0, and the presentation of this data was done through a descriptive analysis. The results that came from  this research showed that the effect of physical activity, lifestyle and nutrition have quite a high impact on body mass index in children. From the results we saw that the children of the two kindergartens from the municipality of Mitrovica did quite well in terms of physical activity, where in the questionnaires that were answered 89.4% of children were active more than an hour a day by walking and doing other activities. Also, the results regarding the questions in which they were asked about the time that children use the phone were at a satisfactory level, where a large percentage of parents, 77.7%, declared that their children did not use the phone  more than an hour a day. While in terms of nutrition, there have been many results which need more detailed analysis and to take preventive measures such as consumption of energy drinks, carbonated beverages, fast food, etc. From the measurement of children aged 3-4 years only one child turned out to be overweight with BMI = 18.7, while the rest came out with BMI with normal limits. As for children aged 4-5 years, one child turned out to be underweight with BMI = 12.4 and one obese with BMI = 21.9 and the others with BMI with normal limits. And out of children aged 5-6 years one child came out overweight with BMI = 17.7 and two others obese, one with BMI = 19.7 and the other BMI = 19.8 and the other children had normal weight (Betterhealth, 2016).


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeanne A. Lewis ◽  
Anshul Pandya

While the consumption of a market-based diet is increasing, subsistence food still forms a part of caloric intake for Northwest Arctic Borough of Alaska residents. The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of consumption of a market-based diet compared to a subsistence diet on the body mass index (BMI) of the people living in this region.  For this, 82 adult participants were recruited, and their weight and height were measured to calculate the Body Mass Index (BMI). The participants were asked to complete a questionnaire that included questions about their family background, lifestyle, physical fitness and dietary patterns. Linear regression models were used to examine BMI's association with variables of diet and physical activity, followed by correlational analysis between BMI and these variables. No significant correlation was identified between BMI and how often people ate a subsistence-based diet. A strong positive correlation was found between BMI and how often people eat food prepared in a restaurant or ate fast food and junk food. A strong negative correlation was found between BMI and frequency of exercise by the participants. Physical activity and consumption of a western diet rather than a subsistence diet are more significant determinants of BMI among Northwest Arctic Borough of Alaska residents. These results can be used as a baseline for further studies linking diet and health outcomes among this region's residents.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 198-204
Author(s):  
Malay Kumar Das ◽  
Aparajita Dasgupta ◽  
Rabindranath Sinha

Introduction: Intermediate school children are in the transition phase from adolescent to adulthood. This age group is known for experimentation and vulnerability to adopt lifestyles predisposing to non-communicable diseases. Method: A pre-designed and pre-tested questionnaire was used in class-room setting to collect information from students regarding presence of risk factors of non-communicable diseases. The respondents were also subjected to anthropometric measurements and blood pressure examination using standard operating procedures. Results: A total of 761 students of class VI-XII participated in the study of which 61.4% were boys and rests were girls. Increased body mass index among boys and girls were 12.6% and 11.6% were respectively. In Bivariate analysis fast food intake (>3 times/week) (OR=1.92), less physical activity (OR=1.86), high blood pressure (OR=2.53) were significantly associated with increased body mass index. In Multivariate analysis fast food intake (AOR=1.83), less physical activity (AOR= 1.94), high blood pressure (AOR=2.40) remains significant predictor. Conclusion: Therefore it is strongly felt that all efforts must be made to obviate the risk factors of overweight and obesity among the general mass at a very early age. Those efforts must be well structured, scientifically systematized and socially implementable. Keywords: Children, BMI, Risk factor, Rural school.


Author(s):  
Ahlam Saleh Al-Hajri - Fiona McCullough  -   Andy Salter

    This study investigates the association between Physical Activity (PA) and dietary intake with Body Mass Index (BMI) among Saudi women living in Saudi Arabia and women living in the UK. A survey of a snowball sample was used to recruit 258 female and explored factors influencing PA and food intake and their effects on BMI in women living in KSA and UK. Participants completed a self-reporting questionnaire relating to knowledge, attitudes, barriers, and levels of PA, sedentary activity and eating habits. Several results were concluded, most importantly: 1) Excessive energy intake, physical inactivity, and sedentary lifestyle were all prevalent in Saudi women, resulting in 80%, over the age of 35 years being overweight or obese. 2) BMI was associated with both energy intake and PA, though the relationship with the former was stronger. The most common barriers to regular exercise were transportation and lack of time. 3) Findings were generally similar between women living in Saudi Arabia and the UK. 4) This study confirms that excessive dietary intake and physical inactivity both contribute to overweight and obesity in Saudi Arabian women.    


SLEEP ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 44 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. A249-A249
Author(s):  
Xiaopeng Ji ◽  
Lauren Covington ◽  
Janeese Brownlow

Abstract Introduction Short sleep duration is associated with overweight and obesity. Less clear is how sleep regularity and physical activity interact with sleep duration in predicting overweight across adolescent stages. This study examined interactions between (1) sleep duration and regularity, and (2) sleep duration and physical activity on overweight in preadolescents (10–11 years), early (12–14), and middle (15–17 years) adolescents. Methods Using the National Survey of Children’s Health 2017–2018 dataset, we included youth with sleep, physical activity and overweight data available (n=25,875) in the analyses. Parents reported their children’s sleep duration, sleep regularity and physical activity (>60 min/day) frequency per week. High Body Mass Index (BMI, ≥85th percentile) for age and sex indicated overweight/obesity. Accounting for complex survey design and covariates (age, sex, race, poverty, and resilience), separate logistic regression models (STATA 16.0) estimated the associations in preadolescents, early and middle adolescents. Results Preadolescents had the highest odds of high BMI compared to other age groups (OR= 0.64 and 0.78, p<0.001). Every hour increase in sleep duration was associated with 4–18% decrease in the odds of having high BMI, with the highest magnitude shown in preadolescents (OR=0.82, p<0.001), followed by adolescents aged 12–14 (OR=0.89, p<0.001) and 15–17 years old (OR=0.96, p=0.04). For preadolescents, irregular sleep (OR=1.41, p<0.001) and physical activity (OR=0.83, p=0.03) modified the association between sleep duration and BMI. Specifically, the association was attenuated or even reversed among irregular sleepers (OR=1.09, p=0.27) compared with regular sleepers (OR=0.77, p<0.001). Preadolescents with regular physical activity (≥4 days/week) showed stronger associations (OR=0.74, p<0.001) between sleep duration and BMI than their counterparts (OR=0.89, p=0.01). Sleep regularity was not associated with BMI nor a modifier in other age groups. Although there was no interaction with sleep duration, regular physical activity was independently associated with decreased odds of having high BMI (OR=0.62, p<0.001) in early and middle adolescents. Conclusion The relationship between lifestyle factors (i.e., sleep duration and physical activity) and BMI varies by age groups. Sufficient sleep duration, regular bedtimes and physical activity represent resilience factors against overweight/obesity, especially in preadolescents who are at greater risk for high BMI. Support (if any) N/A


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