Underweight, body image, and weight loss measures among adolescents in Saudi Arabia: is it a fad or is there more going on?

Autor:	Hijji TM; College of Medicine, Alfaisal University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia., Saleheen H; National Family Safety Program, King Abdulaziz Medical City - Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia., AlBuhairan FS; College of Medicine, Alfaisal University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.; Department of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, Aldara Hospital and Medical Center, Saudi Arabia.; Department of Population, Family, and Reproductive Health, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA.
Jazyk:	angličtina
Zdroj:	International journal of pediatrics & adolescent medicine [Int J Pediatr Adolesc Med] 2021 Mar; Vol. 8 (1), pp. 18-24. Date of Electronic Publication: 2020 Jan 08.
DOI:	10.1016/j.ijpam.2020.01.002
Abstrakt:	Background and Objective: Adolescence is considered to be a pivotal point in which optimum nutrition and eating habits are developed. Although tackling the obesity epidemic has been much discussed, addressing the issue of underweight and body image is often neglected. This study was carried out to get a better understanding of underweight status among adolescents in Saudi Arabia, and exploring self-perceptions of body image and weight loss measures among underweight adolescents. Methods: Data from Jeeluna®, a national cross-sectional school-based survey were utilized. Jeeluna® assessed the health status and health-risk behaviors of adolescents in school through data obtained by a self-administered questionnaire, anthropologic measurements, and laboratory investigations. Results: A total of 12,463 adolescents participated. Eighteen percent of adolescent males and 12.4% of females were found to be underweight, representing 14.9% of adolescents collectively. Forty-five percent of underweight participants were happy with their weight. Underweight females between the age group of 10 and 14 years were the most likely to believe that they still need to lose weight (16.0%) followed by females aged 15-19 years (9.7%). Underweight females aged 10-14 years were also the group most likely to engage in purging (1.6%). Stepwise logistic regression found that the strongest association with being underweight was with having a lower household income (OR 2.0, CI 1.5-2.7) and having more than 5 siblings (OR 1.8, CI 1.5-2.3). Conclusion: Underweight status is prevalent among adolescents in Saudi Arabia and deserves more attention as a public health issue. Distorted body image and disordered eating behaviors exist, necessitating further investigation of underlying causes. Competing Interests: The named authors all declare that they have no conflicts of interest, real or perceived, to disclose. (© 2020 Publishing services provided by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre (General Organization), Saudi Arabia.)
Databáze:	MEDLINE
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