The prevalence and characteristics of overweight and obesity among students in Qatar

Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of overweight and obesity using World Health Organisation (WHO) cut-offs for the body mass index (BMI) among students of the general population living in Qatar in the period 2015-2016. Study design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: The study includes 164,963 students aged 5-19 years. The body weight and height were measured to calculate the BMI. The WHO standard cut-offs were used to categorise the BMI into severe thinness (BMI z-score <-3), thinness (BMI z-score >-3 to <-2), normal (BMI z-score >=-2 to <1), overweight (BMI z-score >=+1 to <+2) and obese (BMI z-score >+2). Results: Overweight and obesity prevalence was 44.8% and 40.4% among males and females and 45.6% and 40.9% among Qatari and non-Qatari students, respectively. Odds of obesity and overweight status were significantly higher among 10-14 and 15-19 age groups than 5-9 years age group (P < 0.001). By sex, males had 1.48 times higher odds of having obesity than females (P < 0.001), and Qatari nationals had 1.4 times higher odds of obesity than non-Qataris (P < 0.001). Although non-Qatari males also had higher odds of being overweight than females (odds ratio [OR] = 1.05, P = 0.0006), the opposite was seen among Qatari students (OR = 0.95, P = 0.01). Conclusion: The result of this survey provides evidence of a high prevalence of overweight and obese students living in Qatar. Therefore, preventive strategies are essential in this population to lower the incidence of being overweight and obesity. (C) 2018 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.