Prevalence of childhood obesity in the state of Kuwait
N Elkum 1, M Al-Arouj 2, M Sharifi 3, A Shaltout 2, A Bennakhi 2
Affiliations
Affiliations
- Sidra Medical and Research Centre, Doha, Qatar.
- Dasman Diabetes Institute, Kuwait City, Kuwait.
- University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
Abstract
Background: Overweight and obesity have reached an epidemic in Kuwait, with the highest rate of adult obesity in the region. National estimates of childhood obesity in Kuwait are scarce. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the prevalence of overweight and obesity among school children in Kuwait.
Methods: This is a cross-sectional study of a representative sample of 6-18 years old school children, randomly selected from 244 schools in Kuwait. Anthropometric data was measured from 6574 students in September 2012-June 2013. Overweight and obesity have been defined in accordance with the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) and World Health Organization (WHO) 2007 criteria.
Results: The prevalence estimate overweight was based on the three different systems (CDC = 17.7%, IOTF = 23.3%, WHO = 21.6%). The prevalence of obesity was (CDC = 33.9%, IOTF = 28.2%, WHO = 30.5%). Boys had a higher percentage of obesity regardless of the classification system used.
Conclusions: The prevalence of childhood obesity is alarmingly high in the State of Kuwait and exceeds the prevalence rates reported from neighbouring countries and from North America.
Keywords: Arabs; children; obesity; prevalence.
Similar articles
Rey-Lopez JP, Hashem R, Hamer M, Mcmunn A, Whincup PH, Owen CG, Stamatakis E.Minerva Pediatr. 2019 Aug;71(4):326-332. doi: 10.23736/S0026-4946.18.04911-3. Epub 2018 Feb 19.PMID: 29460550
Djordjic V, Radisavljevic S, Milanovic I, Bozic P, Grbic M, Jorga J, Ostojic SM.J Pediatr Endocrinol Metab. 2016 Sep 1;29(9):1025-30. doi: 10.1515/jpem-2016-0138.PMID: 27544722
Al-Taiar A, Alqaoud N, Ziyab AH, Alanezi F, Subhakaran M, Sharaf Alddin R, Anna Jeng H, Akpinar-Elci M.Public Health Nutr. 2021 Nov;24(16):5318-5328. doi: 10.1017/S1368980021003177. Epub 2021 Aug 3.PMID: 34342262 Free PMC article.
Weighing in on international growth standards: testing the case in Australian preschool children.
Pattinson CL, Staton SL, Smith SS, Trost SG, Sawyer EF, Thorpe KJ.Obes Rev. 2017 Oct;18(10):1111-1121. doi: 10.1111/obr.12581. Epub 2017 Jul 21.PMID: 28730679 Review.
Kelishadi R, Haghdoost AA, Sadeghirad B, Khajehkazemi R.Nutrition. 2014 Apr;30(4):393-400. doi: 10.1016/j.nut.2013.08.011. Epub 2013 Dec 12.PMID: 24332523 Review.
Cited by
Al-Haifi AR, Al-Awadhi BA, Bumaryoum NY, Alajmi FA, Ashkanani RH, Al-Hazzaa HM.J Health Popul Nutr. 2023 Apr 4;42(1):27. doi: 10.1186/s41043-023-00370-w.PMID: 37016438 Free PMC article.
Treister-Goltzman Y, Peleg R.J Community Health. 2023 Jun;48(3):420-429. doi: 10.1007/s10900-022-01178-1. Epub 2022 Dec 20.PMID: 36538205
Alazmi A, Viktor S, Erjavec M.PLoS One. 2022 Dec 12;17(12):e0272948. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0272948. eCollection 2022.PMID: 36508408 Free PMC article.
Youth-onset type 2 diabetes mellitus: an urgent challenge.
Bjornstad P, Chao LC, Cree-Green M, Dart AB, King M, Looker HC, Magliano DJ, Nadeau KJ, Pinhas-Hamiel O, Shah AS, van Raalte DH, Pavkov ME, Nelson RG.Nat Rev Nephrol. 2023 Mar;19(3):168-184. doi: 10.1038/s41581-022-00645-1. Epub 2022 Oct 31.PMID: 36316388 Review.
Evaluation of Childhood Obesity, Prevalence, and Related Factors in Istanbul.
Alkan H, Enç N, Yeni K, Yıldız Ayvaz M, Kayıkcı EE, Kalkan Uğurlu Y.Florence Nightingale J Nurs. 2022 Oct;30(3):267-273. doi: 10.5152/FNJN.2022.20106.PMID: 36106809 Free PMC article.