PMID- 16572718
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20060726
LR  - 20170214
IS  - 0379-5721 (Print)
IS  - 0379-5721 (Linking)
VI  - 27
IP  - 1
DP  - 2006 Mar
TI  - Prevalence of obesity, overweight, and underweight in Qatari adolescents.
PG  - 39-45
AB  - BACKGROUND: Overweight and obesity have reached epidemic proportions in Arabian 
      oil-rich countries and are threatening to become a global epidemic. Excess weight 
      has a great impact on the health and quality of life of individuals. However, 
      prevalence of underweight in the developing world has shown a decline during the 
      last decade. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this cross-sectional study was to determine 
      the prevalence of underweight, overweight, and obesity, as measured by body-mass 
      index, in a representative sample of adolescents aged 12 to 17 years in the State 
      of Qatar. METHODS: Qatari schoolchildren (n = 3,923) from 30 schools in urban and 
      semiurban districts responded to a sociodemographic questionnaire. Body-mass 
      index was calculated and the prevalence of overweight and obesity was determined 
      on the basis of cutoff points of the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) 
      values (above the 85th and 95th percentiles, respectively, for overweight and 
      obesity). Underweight was defined on the basis of CDC (Centers for Disease 
      Control and Prevention) less than 5th percentile of BMI for age. RESULTS: The 
      final sample consisted of 1,968 boys and 1,955 girls. The prevalence of 
      underweight, overweight, and obesity was 8.6%, 28.6%, and 7.9%, respectively, 
      among adolescent boys and 5.8%, 18.9%, and 4.7% among girls. The prevalence of 
      underweight was highest at 16 years of age among boys (10.5%) and at 17 years 
      among girls (8.9%). The prevalence of obesity was highest at 12 years of age 
      among boys (11.7%) and at 13 years among girls (6.4%). The 95th percentile curve 
      for boys was above the IOTF standard curve; the 95th percentile curve for girls 
      was below the IOTF curve. CONCLUSIONS: Adolescents living in the State of Qatar 
      are at high risk for overweight and obesity. There is a need to establish a 
      national program for the prevention and treatment of obesity and related 
      complications.
FAU - Bener, Abdulbari
AU  - Bener A
AD  - Department of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology, Hamad General Hospital, Hamad 
      Medical Corporation, Doha, State of Qatar. abener@hmc.org.qa
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PL  - United States
TA  - Food Nutr Bull
JT  - Food and nutrition bulletin
JID - 7906418
SB  - IM
MH  - Adolescent
MH  - Age Distribution
MH  - Body Mass Index
MH  - Body Weight
MH  - Child
MH  - Cross-Sectional Studies
MH  - Female
MH  - Humans
MH  - Male
MH  - Nutritional Requirements
MH  - Obesity/*epidemiology/prevention & control
MH  - Prevalence
MH  - Qatar/epidemiology
MH  - Sex Distribution
MH  - Surveys and Questionnaires
MH  - Thinness/*epidemiology/prevention & control
EDAT- 2006/04/01 09:00
MHDA- 2006/07/27 09:00
CRDT- 2006/04/01 09:00
PHST- 2006/04/01 09:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2006/07/27 09:00 [medline]
PHST- 2006/04/01 09:00 [entrez]
AID - 10.1177/156482650602700106 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Food Nutr Bull. 2006 Mar;27(1):39-45. doi: 10.1177/156482650602700106.