The prevalence and characteristics of overweight and obesity among students in Qatar

To estimate the prevalence of overweight and obesity using World Health Organisation (WHO) cut-offs for the body mass index (BMI) among students of the general population living in Qatar in the period 2015-2016.

Cross-sectional study.

The study includes 164,963 students aged 5-19 years. The body weight and height were measured to calculate the BMI. The WHO standard cut-offs were used to categorise the BMI into severe thinness (BMI z-score <-3), thinness (BMI z-score ≥-3 to <-2), normal (BMI z-score ≥-2 to <1), overweight (BMI z-score ≥+1 to <+2) and obese (BMI z-score >+2).

Overweight and obesity prevalence was 44.8% and 40.4% among males and females and 45.6% and 40.9% among Qatari and non-Qatari students, respectively. Odds of obesity and overweight status were significantly higher among 10-14 and 15-19 age groups than 5-9 years age group (P < 0.001). By sex, males had 1.48 times higher odds of having obesity than females (P < 0.001), and Qatari nationals had 1.4 times higher odds of obesity than non-Qataris (P < 0.001). Although non-Qatari males also had higher odds of being overweight than females (odds ratio [OR] = 1.05, P = 0.0006), the opposite was seen among Qatari students (OR = 0.95, P = 0.01).

The result of this survey provides evidence of a high prevalence of overweight and obese students living in Qatar. Therefore, preventive strategies are essential in this population to lower the incidence of being overweight and obesity.