Adolescent obesity in Syria: prevalence and associated factors

Child: Care, Health and Development

Volumn 36, Issue 3, 2010, Pages 404-413

  Nasreddine, L ^a   Mehio Sibai, A ^a   Mrayati, M ^a   Adra, N ^a   Hwalla, Nahla ^a  

^a AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF BEIRUT   (Lebanon)

Author keywords

Adolescents; Body mass index; Damascus; Nutrition survey; Obesity; Overweight; Syria

Indexed keywords

ADOLESCENT; ARTICLE; BODY MASS; BODY WEIGHT; CHILD NUTRITION; CLINICAL TRIAL; CULTURAL FACTOR; EDUCATION; EPIDEMIOLOGY; FEMALE; HUMAN; MALE; MULTICENTER STUDY; OBESITY; PARENT; RISK FACTOR; SEX DIFFERENCE; SOCIOECONOMICS; SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC;

ADOLESCENT; ADOLESCENT NUTRITIONAL PHYSIOLOGICAL PHENOMENA; BODY MASS INDEX; BODY WEIGHT; CROSS-CULTURAL COMPARISON; EPIDEMIOLOGIC METHODS; FEMALE; HUMANS; MALE; OBESITY; PARENTS; RISK FACTORS; SEX FACTORS; SOCIOECONOMIC FACTORS; SYRIA;

EID: 77955237648     PISSN: 03051862     EISSN: 13652214     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2214.2009.01042.x     Document Type: Article

References (65)

1. Abalkhail B A, Shawky S, Soliman N K. Validity of self-reported weight and height among Saudi school children and adolescents. Saudi Medical Journal 2002, 23:831-837.
2. Al-Almaie S M. Prevalence of obesity and overweight among Saudi adolescents in Eastern Saudi Arabia. Saudi Medical Journal 2005, 26:607-611.
3. Al-Isa A N. Body mass index, overweight and obesity among Kuwaiti intermediate school adolescents aged 10-14 years. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2004, 58:1273-1277.
4. Al-Saeed W Y, Al-Dawood K M, Bukhari I A, Bahnassy A. Prevalence and socioeconomic risk factors of obesity among urban female students in Al-Khobar city, Eastern Saudi Arabia. Obesity Reviews 2007, 8:93-99.
5. Al-Sendi A M, Shetty P, Musaiger A O. Prevalence of overweight and obesity among Bahraini adolescents: a comparison between three different sets of criteria. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2003, 57:471-474.
6. Aounallah-Skhiri H, Romdhane H B, Traissac P, Eymard-Duvernay S, Delpeuch F, Achour N, Maire B. Nutritional status of Tunisian adolescents: associated Hassapidou gender, environmental and socio-economic factors. Public Health Nutrition 2008, 19:1-12.
7. Baker J L, Olsen L W, Sørensen T I A. Childhood body-mass index and the risk of coronary heart disease in adulthood. The New England Journal of Medicine 2007, 357:2329-2337.
8. Barba G, Troiano E, Russo P, Venezia A, Siani A. Inverse association between body mass and frequency of milk consumption in children. The British Journal of Nutrition 2005, 93:15-19.
9. Bener A. Prevalence of obesity, overweight, and underweight in qatari adolescents. Food and Nutrition Bulletin 2006, 27:39-34.
10. Brand-Miller J, McMillan-Price J, Steinbeck K, Caterson I. Carbohydrates - the good, the bad and the whole grain. Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2008, 17:S16-S19. Suppl
11. Celi F, Bini V, De Giorgi G, Molinari D, Faraoni F, Di Stefano G, Bacosi M L, Berioli M G, Contessa G, Falorni A. Epidemiology of overweight and obesity among school children and adolescents in three provinces of central Italy, 1993-2001: study of potential influencing variables. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2003, 57:1045-1051.
12. Chen H. Educational systems, growth and income distribution: a quantitative study. Journal of Development Economics 2005, 76:325-353.
13. Cole T J, Bellizzi M C, Flegal K M, Dietz W H. Establishing a standard definition for child overweight and obesity worldwide: International survey. British Medical Journal 2000, 320:1240-1243.
14. Cook S, Weitzman M, Auinger P, Nguyen M, Dietz W H. Prevalence of a metabolic syndrome phenotype in adolescents: Findings from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988-1994. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine 2003, 157:821-827.
15. Denney-Wilson E, Hardy L L, Dobbins T, Okely A D, Baur L A. Body mass index, waist circumference and chronic disease risk factors in australian adolescents. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine 2008, 162:566-573.
16. Discigil G, Tekin N, Soylemez A. Obesity in Turkish children and adolescents: prevalence and non-nutritional correlates in an urban sample. Child: Care, Health and Development 2009, 35:153-158.
17. Donfrancesco C, Lo Noce C, Brignoli O, Riccardi G, Ciccarelli P, Dima F, Palmieri L, Giampaoli S. Italian network for obesity and cardiovascular disease surveillance: a pilot project. BMC Family Practice 2008, 9:53.
18. Ebbeling C B, Pawlak D B, Ludwig D S. Childhood obesity: public-health crisis, common sense cure. Lancet 2002, 360:473-482.
19. Statistical Abstract of the ESCWA Region (Twenty-Seventh Issue 2007, Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, United Nations, New York
20. Esmaillzadeh A, Mirmiran P, Azadbakht L, Etemadi A, Azizi F. High Prevalence of the Metabolic Syndrome in Iranian Adolescents. Obesity 2006, 14:377-382.
21. Flegal K M. Epidemiologic aspects of overweight and obesity in the United States. Physiology & Behavior 2005, 86:599-602.
22. Fouad M, Rastam S, Ward K, Maziak W. Prevalence of obesity and its associated factors in Aleppo, Syria. Prevention and Control 2006, 2:85-94.
23. García-Alvarez A, Serra-Majem L, Ribas-Barba L, Castell C, Foz M, Uauy R, Plasencia A, Salleras L. Obesity and overweight trends in Catalonia, Spain (1992-2003): gender and socio-economic determinants. Public Health Nutrition 2007, 10:1368-1378.
24. Grøholt E K, Stigum H, Nordhagen R. Overweight and obesity among adolescents in Norway: cultural and socio-economic differences. Journal of Public Health 2008, 30:258-265.
25. Hassapidou M, Fotiadou E, Maglara E, Papadopoulou S K. Energy intake, diet composition, energy expenditure, and body fatness of adolescents in Northern Greece. Obesity 2006, 14:855-862.
26. Hauner H, Bramlage P, Lösch C, Steinhagen-Thiessen E, Schunkert H, Wasem J, Jöckel K H, Moebus S. Prevalence of obesity in primary care using different anthropometric measures - results of the German Metabolic and Cardiovascular Risk Project (GEMCAS). BMC Public Health 2008, 8:282.
27. Hebebrand J, Herpertz-Dahlmann B. Psychological and psychiatric aspects of pediatric obesity. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America 2009, 18:49-65.
28. Howarth N C, Saltzman E, Roberts S B. Dietary fiber and weight regulation. Nutrition Reviews 2001, 59:129-139.
29. Hwalla N, Sibai A M, Adra N. Adolescent obesity and physical activity. World Review of Nutrition and Dietetics 2005, 94:42-50. Simopoulos AP (ed): Nutrition and Fitness: Obesity, the Metabolic Syndrome, Cardiovascular Disease, and Cancer
30. Jelliffe D B. Community Nutritional Assessment: with A Special Reference to Less Technically Developed Countries 1989, Oxford University Press, New York
31. Kandela P. The Kuwaiti passion for food cannot be shaken. Lancet 1999, 353:1249-1250.
32. Krebs N F, Jacobson M S. American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Nutrition. Prevention of pediatric overweight and obesity. Pediatrics 2003, 112:424-430.
33. Kruger R, Kruger H S, Macintyre U E. The determinants of overweight and obesity among 10- to 15-year-old schoolchildren in the North West Province, South Africa - the THUSA BANA (Transition and Health during Urbanisation of South Africans; BANA, children) study. Public Health Nutrition 2006, 9:351-358.
34. Kuczmarski R J, Ogden C L, Guo S S, Grummer-Strawn L M, Flegal K M, Mei Z, Wei R, Curtin L R, Roche A F, Johnson C L. 2000 CDC growth charts for the United States: methods and development. Vital and Health Statistics Series 11 2002, 246:1-190.
35. Lobstein T, Frelut M L. Prevalence of overweight among children in Europe. Obesity Reviews 2003, 4:95-200.
36. Loomba-Albrecht L A, Styne D M. Effect of puberty on body composition. Current Opinion in Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Obesity 2009, 16:10-15.
37. Ludwig D S, Peterson K E, Gortmaker S L. Relationship between consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks and childhood obesity: a prospective, observational analysis. Lancet 2001, 357:505-508.
38. McCarthy H D, Ellis S M, Cole T J. Central overweight and obesity in British youth aged 11-16 years: cross sectional surveys of waist circumference. British Medical Journal, (Clinical Research Ed.) 2003, 326.
39. Malik M, Bakir A. Prevalence of overweight and obesity among children in the United Arab Emirates. Obesity Reviews 2007, 8:15-20.
40. Marques-Vidal P, Ferreira R, Oliveira J M, Paccaud F. Is thinness more prevalent than obesity in Portuguese adolescents? Clinical Nutrition 2008, 27:531-536.
41. Martín J J, Hernández L S, Gonzalez M G, Mendez C P, Rey Galán C, Guerrero S M. Trends in childhood and adolescent obesity prevalence in Oviedo (Asturias, Spain) 1992-2006. Acta Paediatrica 2006, 97:955-958.
42. Matthiessen J, Velsing Groth M, Fagt S, Biltoft-Jensen A, Stockmarr A, Andersen J S, Trolle E. Prevalence and trends in overweight and obesity among children and adolescents in Denmark. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health 2008, 36:153-160.
43. Moussa M A A, Shaltout A A, Al-Sheikh N, Agha N. Prevalence of Obesity among 6- to 13-Year-Old Kuwaiti Children. Medical Principles and Practice 1999, 8:272-280.
44. Must A, Jacques P F, Dallal G E, Bajema C J, Dietz W H. Long-term morbidity and mortality of overweight adolescents: a follow- up of the Harvard Growth Study of 1922-1935. The New England Journal of Medicine 1992, 327:1350-1355.
45. Nasser M. Comparative study of the prevalence of abnormal eating attitudes among Arab female students of both London and Cairo universities. Psychological Medicine 1986, 16:621-625.
46. Anthropometric Reference Data and Prevalence of Overweight, United States (1976-1980. 1987, National Center for Health Statistics, Vital & Health Statistics Data from the National Health Survey (Series 11). Department of Health and Human services, USA
47. Nielsen N J, Popkin B M. Changes in beverage Intake between 1997 and 2001. American Journal of Preventive Medicine 2004, 27:205-210.
48. Ogden C L, Flegal K M, Carroll M D, Johnson C L. Prevalence and trends in overweight among US children and adolescents, 1999-2000. Journal of the American Medical Association: The Journal of the American Medical Association 2002, 288:1728-1732.
49. Oliveira A M, Oliveira A C, Almeida M S, Oliveira N, Adan L. Influence of the family nucleus on obesity in children from northeastern Brazil: a cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health 2007, 7:235.
50. de Onis M, Onyango AW, Borghi E, Siyam A, Nishida C, Siekmann J. Development of a World Health Organization (WHO) growth reference for school-aged children and adolescents. Bulletin of the World Health Organization 2007, 85:660-667.
51. Pellet P L, Shaderevian S. Food Composition for Use in the Middle East 1970, 2nd, edn., American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
52. Pereira M A, Jacobs D R, Van Horn L, Slattery M L, Kartashov A I, Ludwig D S. Dairy consumption, obesity, and the insulin resistance syndrome in young adults: the CARDIA Study. Journal of the American Medical Association: The Journal of the American Medical Association 2002, 287:2081-2089.
53. Popkin B M, Gordon-Larsen P. The nutrition transition: worldwide obesity dynamics and their determinants. International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders 2004, 28(3):S2-S9. Suppl
54. Poskitt E M. Countries in transition: underweight to obesity non-stop? Annals of Tropical Paediatrics 2009, 29:1-11.
55. Rees A, Thomas N, Brophy S, Knox G, Williams R. Cross sectional study of childhood obesity and prevalence of risk factors for cardiovascular disease and diabetes in children aged 11-13. BMC Public Health 2009, 9:86.
56. Shai I, Schwarzfuchs D, Henkin Y, Shahar D R, Witkow S, Greenberg I, Golan R, Fraser D, Bolotin A, Vardi H, Tangi-Rozental O, Zuk-Ramot R, Sarusi B, Brickner D, Schwartz Z, Sheiner E, Marko R, Katorza E, Thiery J, Fiedler G M, Blüher M, Stumvoll M, Stampfer M J. Weight loss with a low-carbohydrate, Mediterranean, or low-fat diet. The New England Journal of Medicine 2008, 359:229-241. Dietary Intervention Randomized Controlled Trial (DIRECT) Group
57. Sibai A M, Hwalla N, Adra N, Rahal B. Prevalence and Covariates of Obesity in Lebanon: Findings from the First Epidemiological Study. Obesity Research 2003, 11:1354-1361.
58. Skinner J D, Bounds W, Carruth B R, Ziegler P. longitudinal calcium intake is negatively related to children's body fat indexes. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 2003, 103:1626-1631.
59. Thompson F E, Byers T. Dietary assessment resource manual. The Journal of Nutrition 1994, 124:2245S-2317S.
60. Education and Human Development: Towards Better Efficiency. 2005, http://hdr.undp.org/en/reports/nationalreports/arabstates/syria/name,3338,en.html, UNDP, Human Development reports, pp. 1-209. UNDP, Syrian Arab Republic. Available at: (accessed from August 2009
61. Wang Y. Cross-national comparison of childhood obesity: the epidemic and the relationship between obesity and socioeconomic status. International Journal of Epidemiology 2001, 30:1129-1136.
62. Wiegand S, Maikowski U, Blankenstein O, Biebermann H, Tarnow P, Grüters A. Type 2 diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance in European children and adolescents with obesity - a problem that is no longer restricted to minority groups. European Journal of Endocrinology 2004, 151:199-206.
63. MENA development Report, The Road Not Travelled, Education Reform in Middle-East and North Africa. 2008, http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTMENA/Resources/EDU_Flagship_Full_ENG.pdf, World Bank, pp. 1-26. World Bank, Washington DC, USA. Available at: (accessed from August 2009
64. Physical status: the use and interpretation of anthropometry (Technical Report Series no. 854. 1995, World Health Organization, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland
65. Zemel M B, Richards J, Mathis S, Milstead A, Gebhardt L, Silva E. Dairy augmentation of total and central fat loss in obese subjects. International Journal of Obesity 2005, 29:391-397.