ArticleAnnals of Saudi medicine
Prevalence of overweight and obesity in Saudi children and adolescents.
Article in Annals of Saudi medicine. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 98 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
98 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 253 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Global Spread of Severe Obesity in Toddlers, Children, and Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Obesity facts · 2022Pooled it
- Assessment of factors associated with the perception of parents concerning the body weight of their children and its implication on normalization of childhood obesity.Translational pediatrics · 2025Article
- Article
- Overweight and obesity among adolescents in Saudi Arabia: a multi-school cross-sectional study.BMC pediatrics · 2025Article
- Health concerns and health-risk behaviors among school-aged children in Saudi Arabia.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2025Review
- Obesity and dental caries in Saudi Arabia: a correlated study.BMC oral health · 2024Article
- BMI, Dental Caries, and Risk Factors among Elementary School Children: A Cross-Sectional Study.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Prevalence of Childhood Obesity Among Children and Adolescents in Saudi Arabia: A Systematic Review.Cureus · 2024Review
- Article
- Body weight modification experience among adolescents from Saudi Arabia.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Prevalence and Determinants of Obesity and Overweight Among Children and Adolescents in the Middle East and North African Countries: An Updated Systematic Review.Diabetes, metabolic syndrome and obesity : targets and therapy · 2024Review
- Barriers, enablers and motivators of the "I'm an active Hero" physical activity intervention for preschool children: a qualitative study.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2024Article
- The shifting patterns of childhood obesity: Insights from national school screening data.Saudi pharmaceutical journal : SPJ : the official publication of the Saudi Pharmaceutical Society · 2023Article
- Article
- Blood Parameter Profiles and Their Clinical Implications in Hypertensive Patients: A Retrospective Chart Review.Cureus · 2023Article
- Article
- Article
- Change in Growth Status and Obesity Rates among Saudi Children and Adolescents Is Partially Attributed to Discrepancies in Definitions Used: A Review of Anthropometric Measurements.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Physical Activity, Sleep Patterns and Diet Habits as Well as the Prevalence of Obesity among Adolescents: A Cross Sectional Study from Ha'il City in Saudi Arabia.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Barriers and enablers to the implementation of school-based obesity prevention strategies in Jeddah, KSA.International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being · 2022Article
38 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
objectiveThere is limited information on overweight and obesity in Saudi children and adolescents. The objective of this study was to establish the national prevalence of overweight and obesity in Saudi children and adolescents.
methodsThe 2005 Saudi reference data set was used to calculate the body mass index (BMI) for children aged 5 to 18 years. Using the 2007 WHO reference, the prevalence of overweight, obesity and severe obesity were defined as the proportion of children with a BMI standard deviation score more than +1, +2 and +3, respectively. The 2000 CDC reference was also used for comparison.
resultsThere were 19 317 healthy children and adolescents from 5 to 18 years of age, 50.8% of whom were boys. The overall prevalence of overweight, obesity and severe obesity in all age groups was 23.1%, 9.3% and 2%, respectively. A significantly lower prevalence of overweight (23.8 vs 20.4; P<.001) and obesity (9.5 vs 5.7; P<.001) was found when the CDC reference was used.
conclusionsThis report establishes baseline national prevalence rates for overweight, obesity and severe obesity in Saudi children and adolescents, indicating intermediate levels between developing and industrialized countries. Measures should be implemented to prevent further increases in the numbers of overweight school-age children and adolescents and the associated health hazards.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.