Prevalence and Socio-Demographic Predictors of Overweight and Obesity Risks among Adolescents Aged 15-18 Years in Kuwait

Abstract

Objective: Obesity is a contributing factor to various non-communicable diseases. This study is aimed at determining the prevalence and predictors of overweight and obesity among secondary school adolescents in Kuwait, a problem that has not been studied in the past few years. Methods: This investigation, which adopted a cross-sectional design, was conducted at public secondary schools in all the six Kuwaiti governorates, via. Al- Ahmadi, Jahra, Hawalli, Al Asimah, Al- Farwaniyah and Mubarak Al- Kabeer. Secondary school students aged 15 to 18 years old were recruited using cluster sampling. Data were collected from 4,958 eligible participants and analyzed using Chi-square test for association relation, and multiple logistic regression to determine significant predictors of obesity. Result: Our findings reported a prevalence of 13.7% of overweight and 2.3% of obesity, they also showed that adolescent males and adolescents in some school districts had a higher tendency to be obese. Also, our findings indicated that only a minority of the adolescents were obese (n=115; 2.3%). A multiple logistic regression analysis showed that the respondents’ obesity was significantly associated with gender and school district. Girls were more likely to be non-obese (AOR=1.702, 95%CI: 1.160-2.498, P=0.007). Students from the school district of Al-Ahmadi were less likely to be obese compared to students from Mubarak Al-Kabeer (AOR=2.497, 95%CI: 1.002-6.219, P=0.049). Conclusion: Gender and school district were significantly associated with obesity.