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BMI, Dental Caries, and Risk Factors among Elementary School Children: A Cross-Sectional Study
1Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Kind Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80200, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia.
Children (Basel, Switzerland)
|September 28, 2024
Summary
Poor diets in Saudi children are linked to higher rates of dental caries (decayed, missed, filled teeth scores). However, childhood obesity was not associated with diet quality or physical activity levels in this study.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Oral Health
- Public Health
Background:
- Obesity and dental caries are prevalent multifactorial diseases in Saudi children.
- Understanding their associations with lifestyle factors is crucial for public health interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between diet quality, physical activity, and the prevalence of obesity and dental caries in Saudi schoolchildren.
- To identify common risk factors contributing to these conditions.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study involving 300 Saudi elementary school children.
- Assessment of Body Mass Index (BMI), decayed, missed, and filled teeth (dmft/DMFT) scores, diet quality (KIDMED, junk food scores), and physical activity (PA) levels.
- Statistical analysis using nonparametric tests to determine associations between risk factors and health outcomes.
Main Results:
- Poor diet quality was significantly associated with higher dmft/DMFT scores (p=0.012).
- Physical activity levels were generally low, with no significant association found between BMI and PA.
- No association was observed between BMI and diet quality; older children had lower BMI percentiles.
Conclusions:
- Poor dietary habits and high consumption of chips are linked to increased dental caries in children.
- Childhood obesity in this cohort was not significantly related to diet quality or physical activity levels.
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