IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v16y2019i22p4428-d286422.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Relationship between Lifestyle Factors and Obesity Indices among Adolescents in Qatar

Author

Listed:
  • Abdelhamid Kerkadi

    (Human Nutrition Department, College of Health Science, QU-Health, Qatar University, Doha 2713, Qatar)

  • Abdelmonem H. Sadig

    (Human Nutrition Department, College of Health Science, QU-Health, Qatar University, Doha 2713, Qatar)

  • Hiba Bawadi

    (Human Nutrition Department, College of Health Science, QU-Health, Qatar University, Doha 2713, Qatar)

  • Al Anoud Mohammed Al Thani

    (Ministry of Public Health, Doha 42, Qatar)

  • Walaa Al Chetachi

    (Ministry of Public Health, Doha 42, Qatar)

  • Hammad Akram

    (Ministry of Public Health, Doha 42, Qatar)

  • Hazzaa M. Al-Hazzaa

    (Paediatric Exercise Physiology Research Laboratory, College of Education, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia)

  • Abdulrahman O. Musaiger

    (Arab Centre for Nutrition, Manama 26923, Bahrain)

Abstract

Background: Physical inactivity, sedentary behaviour and an unhealthy diet are factors that may increase weight and general and/or abdominal obesity. Objective: To evaluate the relationship between general and abdominal obesity and lifestyle factors among adolescents in Qatar. Methods: The study data are based on the Arab Teens Lifestyle Study (ATLS). The target population consisted of 1184 adolescents aged between 14 and 18 years old (563 boys and 621 girls), randomly selected through multistage sampling. A validated questionnaire was used to collect data on lifestyle indicators. Anthropometric indicators, which included body weight, height and waist circumference (WC), were measured according to standardised procedures. International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) age- and sex-specific body mass index (BMI) reference values were used to define overweight and obesity. Abdominal obesity was defined by the ‘waist-to-height ratio’ (WHtR > 0.5) and by sex- and age-specific WC cutoff values. Results: Females were more inactive than males (63.7% vs. 36.3%; p < 0.001). The proportion of adolescents who reported screen time of over 2 h per day was 82.5%. Females engaged in more sedentary behaviour than males (53.4% vs. 46.4%, p = 0.009). Being male (OR: 1.3; CI: 1.0–1.7) and skipping breakfast (OR: 1.5; CI: 1.2–2) were significantly associated with overweight/obesity. In contrast, high intake of fast food, fries, sweets and cake were negative predictors of general and abdominal obesity. Conclusions: The findings revealed the prevalence of unhealthy lifestyle habits among adolescents in Qatar and indicated relationships between certain dietary habits and obesity. The findings of this study may help in advocating for the implementation of an intervention that includes lifestyle changes targeting adolescents.

Suggested Citation

  • Abdelhamid Kerkadi & Abdelmonem H. Sadig & Hiba Bawadi & Al Anoud Mohammed Al Thani & Walaa Al Chetachi & Hammad Akram & Hazzaa M. Al-Hazzaa & Abdulrahman O. Musaiger, 2019. "The Relationship between Lifestyle Factors and Obesity Indices among Adolescents in Qatar," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(22), pages 1-15, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:22:p:4428-:d:286422
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/22/4428/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/22/4428/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hazzaa M. Al-Hazzaa & Hana I. Al-Sobayel & Abdulrahman O. Musaiger, 2011. "Convergent Validity of the Arab Teens Lifestyle Study (ATLS) Physical Activity Questionnaire," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 8(9), pages 1-11, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Liwang Gao & Jiang Zhu & Liang Wang & Li Ming Wen & Zhuo Chen & Bingtong Zhao & Weidong Wang & Youfa Wang, 2022. "Interactions between Self-Perceived Weight Status and Lifestyle Behaviors and Their Associations with Childhood Obesity: Results from the Childhood Obesity Study in China Mega-Cities," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-12, August.
    2. Esraa Burahmah & Sivaramkumar Shanmugam & Ben Stansfield, 2023. "Full-Day Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour Levels of Typically Developing Children and Adolescents in the Middle East: A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(20), pages 1-29, October.
    3. Sohaila Cheema & Amit Abraham & Katie G. El-Nahas & Rasha Abou-Amona & Abdulla O. Al-Hamaq & Patrick Maisonneuve & Karima Chaabna & Albert B. Lowenfels & Ravinder Mamtani, 2022. "Assessment of Overweight, Obesity, Central Obesity, and Type 2 Diabetes among Adolescents in Qatar: A Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-12, November.
    4. Abeer Ahmad Bahathig & Hazizi Abu Saad & Nor Baizura Md Yusop & Nurul Husna Mohd Shukri & Maha M. Essam El-Din, 2021. "Relationship between Physical Activity, Sedentary Behavior, and Anthropometric Measurements among Saudi Female Adolescents: A Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(16), pages 1-14, August.
    5. Ibrahim Alasqah & Ilias Mahmud & Leah East & Nada Alqarawi & Kim Usher, 2021. "Dietary Behavior of Adolescents in the Qassim Region, Saudi Arabia: A Comparison between Cities with and without the Healthy Cities Program," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(18), pages 1-13, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Atika Khalaf & Örjan Ekblom & Jan Kowalski & Vanja Berggren & Albert Westergren & Hazzaa Al-Hazzaa, 2013. "Female University Students’ Physical Activity Levels and Associated Factors—A Cross-Sectional Study in Southwestern Saudi Arabia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-16, August.
    2. Nada M. Albawardi & Hoda Jradi & Abdulla A. Almalki & Hazzaa M. Al-Hazzaa, 2017. "Level of Sedentary Behavior and Its Associated Factors among Saudi Women Working in Office-Based Jobs in Saudi Arabia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-13, June.
    3. Hazzaa M. Al-Hazzaa & Yahya Al-Nakeeb & Michael J. Duncan & Hana I. Al-Sobayel & Nada A. Abahussain & Abdulrahman O. Musaiger & Mark Lyons & Peter Collins & Alan Nevill, 2013. "A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Health Behaviors between Saudi and British Adolescents Living in Urban Areas: Gender by Country Analyses," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-20, December.
    4. Esraa Burahmah & Sivaramkumar Shanmugam & Ben Stansfield, 2023. "Full-Day Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour Levels of Typically Developing Children and Adolescents in the Middle East: A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(20), pages 1-29, October.
    5. Yahya Al-Nakeeb & Mark Lyons & Peter Collins & Anwar Al-Nuaim & Hazzaa Al-Hazzaa & Michael J. Duncan & Alan Nevill, 2012. "Obesity, Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior Amongst British and Saudi Youth: A Cross-Cultural Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-17, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:22:p:4428-:d:286422. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.