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Factors Influencing Exceed Weight Among Adolescents in the United Arab Emirates: A Cross-Sectional Descriptive Survey of Ajman’s Secondary Schools

Received: 3 October 2022     Accepted: 23 November 2022     Published: 8 December 2022
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Abstract

Background: The study aimed to discover factors influencing prevalence rates of overweight and obesity among adolescents in Unite Arab Emirates and their correlation with physical sport activity, socio-economic circumstances and eating habits. Methods: Overweight and obesity were defined using age and sex-specific Body Mass Index. Physical sport activity, socio-economic conditions and eating practices were assessed with a standardized questionnaire. Factors influencing overweight/obesity were known by Cross-Sectional Descriptive Survey. Statistical significance was adopted for P <0•05. Results: Overweight and obesity respectively affected 5•2 and 1•9% of adolescents surveyed. On sex-wise comparison, 35% of males were overweight compared to 24% of females. 61 (25.21%) of females reported not to participate in any sports compared to 16 (15.1%) of males (X²(1) =5.31., p= 0.025**). In addition, 11 males (10.38%) reported to spend less than 15 minutes in each self-physical sport session compared to 51 (21.07%) of females while 63 (59.43%) males reported to spend more than 30 minutes per session compared to 109 (45.04%) of females (X²(3) =11.003, p= 0.01**). Furthermore, we found only 22.7% of Ajman's adolescents had daily Food/Vegetable (F/V) intake and significantly (P<0.05) reduced the menace of overweight/obesity. 10 (9.43%) of males reported fruits among their favorite foods. Conclusion: Overweight/ Obesity were highly correlated with sedentary behavior; insufficient self-physical sports activities and unhealthy food preferences. Therefore, urgent approaches are needed to provide healthier meals to students at secondary schools; limit their access to low-nutrient, energy-dense foods during the school day; and increase the frequency, intensity, and duration of physical activity.

Published in American Journal of Health Research (Volume 10, Issue 6)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajhr.20221006.12
Page(s) 213-220
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Adolescent, Overweight/Obesity, Physical Sport Activity, Eating Habits

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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Sayar Insaf, Marzougui Mootez, Sayar Rhouma, Abderraouf Ben Abderrahman. (2022). Factors Influencing Exceed Weight Among Adolescents in the United Arab Emirates: A Cross-Sectional Descriptive Survey of Ajman’s Secondary Schools. American Journal of Health Research, 10(6), 213-220. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajhr.20221006.12

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    ACS Style

    Sayar Insaf; Marzougui Mootez; Sayar Rhouma; Abderraouf Ben Abderrahman. Factors Influencing Exceed Weight Among Adolescents in the United Arab Emirates: A Cross-Sectional Descriptive Survey of Ajman’s Secondary Schools. Am. J. Health Res. 2022, 10(6), 213-220. doi: 10.11648/j.ajhr.20221006.12

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    AMA Style

    Sayar Insaf, Marzougui Mootez, Sayar Rhouma, Abderraouf Ben Abderrahman. Factors Influencing Exceed Weight Among Adolescents in the United Arab Emirates: A Cross-Sectional Descriptive Survey of Ajman’s Secondary Schools. Am J Health Res. 2022;10(6):213-220. doi: 10.11648/j.ajhr.20221006.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajhr.20221006.12,
      author = {Sayar Insaf and Marzougui Mootez and Sayar Rhouma and Abderraouf Ben Abderrahman},
      title = {Factors Influencing Exceed Weight Among Adolescents in the United Arab Emirates: A Cross-Sectional Descriptive Survey of Ajman’s Secondary Schools},
      journal = {American Journal of Health Research},
      volume = {10},
      number = {6},
      pages = {213-220},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajhr.20221006.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajhr.20221006.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajhr.20221006.12},
      abstract = {Background: The study aimed to discover factors influencing prevalence rates of overweight and obesity among adolescents in Unite Arab Emirates and their correlation with physical sport activity, socio-economic circumstances and eating habits. Methods: Overweight and obesity were defined using age and sex-specific Body Mass Index. Physical sport activity, socio-economic conditions and eating practices were assessed with a standardized questionnaire. Factors influencing overweight/obesity were known by Cross-Sectional Descriptive Survey. Statistical significance was adopted for P Results: Overweight and obesity respectively affected 5•2 and 1•9% of adolescents surveyed. On sex-wise comparison, 35% of males were overweight compared to 24% of females. 61 (25.21%) of females reported not to participate in any sports compared to 16 (15.1%) of males (X²(1) =5.31., p= 0.025**). In addition, 11 males (10.38%) reported to spend less than 15 minutes in each self-physical sport session compared to 51 (21.07%) of females while 63 (59.43%) males reported to spend more than 30 minutes per session compared to 109 (45.04%) of females (X²(3) =11.003, p= 0.01**). Furthermore, we found only 22.7% of Ajman's adolescents had daily Food/Vegetable (F/V) intake and significantly (PConclusion: Overweight/ Obesity were highly correlated with sedentary behavior; insufficient self-physical sports activities and unhealthy food preferences. Therefore, urgent approaches are needed to provide healthier meals to students at secondary schools; limit their access to low-nutrient, energy-dense foods during the school day; and increase the frequency, intensity, and duration of physical activity.},
     year = {2022}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Factors Influencing Exceed Weight Among Adolescents in the United Arab Emirates: A Cross-Sectional Descriptive Survey of Ajman’s Secondary Schools
    AU  - Sayar Insaf
    AU  - Marzougui Mootez
    AU  - Sayar Rhouma
    AU  - Abderraouf Ben Abderrahman
    Y1  - 2022/12/08
    PY  - 2022
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajhr.20221006.12
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajhr.20221006.12
    T2  - American Journal of Health Research
    JF  - American Journal of Health Research
    JO  - American Journal of Health Research
    SP  - 213
    EP  - 220
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2330-8796
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajhr.20221006.12
    AB  - Background: The study aimed to discover factors influencing prevalence rates of overweight and obesity among adolescents in Unite Arab Emirates and their correlation with physical sport activity, socio-economic circumstances and eating habits. Methods: Overweight and obesity were defined using age and sex-specific Body Mass Index. Physical sport activity, socio-economic conditions and eating practices were assessed with a standardized questionnaire. Factors influencing overweight/obesity were known by Cross-Sectional Descriptive Survey. Statistical significance was adopted for P Results: Overweight and obesity respectively affected 5•2 and 1•9% of adolescents surveyed. On sex-wise comparison, 35% of males were overweight compared to 24% of females. 61 (25.21%) of females reported not to participate in any sports compared to 16 (15.1%) of males (X²(1) =5.31., p= 0.025**). In addition, 11 males (10.38%) reported to spend less than 15 minutes in each self-physical sport session compared to 51 (21.07%) of females while 63 (59.43%) males reported to spend more than 30 minutes per session compared to 109 (45.04%) of females (X²(3) =11.003, p= 0.01**). Furthermore, we found only 22.7% of Ajman's adolescents had daily Food/Vegetable (F/V) intake and significantly (PConclusion: Overweight/ Obesity were highly correlated with sedentary behavior; insufficient self-physical sports activities and unhealthy food preferences. Therefore, urgent approaches are needed to provide healthier meals to students at secondary schools; limit their access to low-nutrient, energy-dense foods during the school day; and increase the frequency, intensity, and duration of physical activity.
    VL  - 10
    IS  - 6
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • High Institute of Sport and Physical Education at Ksar Said, Department of Physical Activity, Manouba University, Tunis, Tunisia

  • Ajman Cross Fit Center, Ajman, United Arab Emirates

  • Plant Breeding Department, Kef Higher School of Agriculture (ESAK), Jendouba University, Boulifa, Tunisia

  • High Institute of Sport and Physical Education at Ksar Said, Department of Physical Activity, Manouba University, Tunis, Tunisia

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