Adolescent Food Habits and Its Association with Overweight and Obesity among Female Students in Eastern Region of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Background: Adolescence is a period of extreme growth changes.Malnutrition along with the adolescence
growth changes has significant effects for maternal and neonatal wellbeing. Bad sequences in the prenatal
period and childbearing are the most important reason of deathsin adolescent girls aged 15–19 years. Aim: To
assess the overall dietary “Food Habits” of adolescent girls. Also, to assess the relationship between obesity,
food habits and physical activity patterns in adolescents. Subjects and Method: A quantitative-correlational
research design was utilized. A Cluster random sampling strategy was used. The study conducted at six
middle and high schools, Al Ahsa, Saudi Arabia. The three sectors covered through two schools from each
sector.The survey was conducted among 593 female school students between November 2019 –January
2020. The questionnaire contained two sections. Ethical approval obtained from the Education Department
of Ministry of Education after obtaining approval from the College of Applied Medical Sciences Research
and Ethical Committee. Results: The mean of body mass index of the participants was 21.1±3.5. It was
clear that (23.6%) of the participants were underweight, while (67.1%) were within normal weight and
(7.9%) were overweight and (1.4%) were obese. Near to half of the participants (47.1%) did not make any
daily activity.(19.2%)of the participants took supplementation medicine. Adolescent Food Habits Checklist
(AFHC) Score was low between the schoolgirls. Conclusion: The current study reinforced that Adolescent
Food Habits Checklist (AFHC) Score was at a low level among the schoolgirls. Near to half of the adolescent
did not make any daily physical training. While range of the physical activity was from (15-30) minutes per
day.