Correlation between obesity and emotional, social, and behavioral problems associated with physical limitation among children and adolescents in Western Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Objectives:To evaluate the impact of body mass index (BMI) on limitation of physical activity and the associated effect on behavioral, school, and social problems among obese children in Western Saudi Arabia.Methods:A cross-sectional obesity survey was conducted in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Data were collected between August 2014 and February 2015 from 281 obese children aged between 2-18 (girls: 130, boys: 151). Participants were selected randomly to represent different economic status, level of education, and family structure.Results:The mean age of participants was 10.5 years for girls and 10.6 years for boys. Higher BMI was associated with physical activity problems in walking (50.6%), running (55.8%), and exercise (44.3%), with school problems in attention (37.4%) and follow-up duties fade (31.3%), and with social problems in doing things other children could do (42.8%), playing with others (46%), and continuing play (33.4%). There was no significant relationship between BMI and emotional problems and school attendance.Conclusion:Higher BMI significantly increased physical limitation, problems maintaining attention in school, and social problems among obese children. However, emotional problems and school attendance did not show a significant correlation with BMI.