| REVIEW ARTICLE |
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| Year : 2013 | Volume
: 1
| Issue : 1 | Page : 3-9 |
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Obesity among Saudi children
Ali Al Shehri1, Areej Al Fattani2, Ibrahim Al Alwan3
1 College of Public Health, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
2 Epidemiology and Biostatistics Program, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
3 College of Medicine, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Correspondence Address:
Ali Al Shehri
President of Saudi Association for Public Health, Chairman of Community & Environmental Health, College of Public Health and Health Informatics, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh
Saudi Arabia
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/2347-2618.119467
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Childhood obesity is considered as a serious health problem worldwide. The aim of this review is to evaluate the prevalence and the trends of obesity among Saudi children. A full search was conducted for all articles published between 2000 and 2012 on obesity in Saudi children. The latest national data revealed that the rates of overweight and obesity among school-age children have reached 23% and 9.3%, respectively. However, the rates of overweight and obesity among preschool children were reported as approximately 15% and 6%, respectively. A variation in the prevalence of obesity and overweight in children among geographical regions of the Kingdom was noted. Eastern and central regions have the highest prevalence of obesity and overweight and southern regions have the lowest prevalence of obesity and overweight. Both regional and national studies showed a trend of rising obesity over time. This review demonstrated that Saudi children have a high prevalence of obesity and being overweight with a rising trend. In light of these findings, it is evident that a national strategy is required to treat and prevent this serious health problem. |
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