Profile of body composition of school children (6-18 y) in Bahrain

OBJECTIVE: To study the body composition of Bahraini school children. DESIGN: Cross-sectional national school survey. SUBJECTS: School children aged 6-18 y. The sample comprised 818 boys and 775 girls. MEASUREMENTS: Weight, height, arm circumference and skinfold thicknesses were measured. Sum of skinfold thickness, body mass index (BMI), mid arm circumference, percentage body fat, fat weight and lean body weight were then calculated to determine body composition. RESULTS: A significant difference in the sum of skinfold thickness was observed between boys and girls. The girls have almost 50% extra skinfold thickness than boys at all ages. Similar trends were found in BMI, except at ages 9 and 18 y. The percentage of body fat was higher in girls than boys. The mean BMI for Bahraini girls aged 13 y and above exceeds that of their American counterparts, indicating a trend towards fat accumulation in the Bahraini girls. CONCLUSION: The data obtained are useful for monitoring obesity in school children in Bahrain as well as being usable as reference data for similar countries in the region. The high proportion of body fat among Bahraini school children, especially girls, urges an intervention program to prevent and control obesity in this age group.