Nutritional Habits of School aged Females with Overweight in Saudi Arabia

Soliman, Mona Adel; Nashaat, Nahla Ali Mher; Yacoub, Kirolos Emeel; Shalaby, Silvia Farouk

doi:10.21608/ejnh.2025.447951

Nutritional Habits of School aged Females with Overweight in Saudi Arabia

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Public Health Department – Faculty of Medicine – Cairo University – Egypt.

² Ph.D., Mohammed AL-Mana College for Medical Science, Dammam. KSA. And Community Health Nursing Department, Faculty of Nursing, Alexandria University, Egypt.

³ Medical student, Faculty of Medicine – Cairo University, Egypt.

10.21608/ejnh.2025.447951

Abstract

Increased overweight and obesity rates in Saudi adolescents suggest that the eating habits and their determinants need to be understood, especially among schoolgirls, who are a lesser-studied group in the Eastern Province of Kingdome Saudi Arabia (KSA). The current study assessed nutritional alhabits among elementary, middle and secondary school girls with overweight and obesity. A multi-stage sampling survey that measured weight status was carried out among 1500 girls aged 8–17 years from the Eastern Province public schools. Sociodemographic data, dietary habits, and anthropometric measures were gathered from the students(300) which were diagnosed with overweight and obesity using questionnaires and standardized tools. The studied students’ nutrition consisted of frequent intake of energy-dense foods (e.g., bakery products 78%, crisps 74% in school) and sugary drinks (36% three times a day), but with low fruit/vegetable intake (40% in school, 24% at home). Skipping breakfast (42%) was prevalent with minimal adherence to physical activity (22%). In conclusion, the high prevalence of suboptimal dietary practices requires urgent nutrition education and other nutrition intervention targeting schoolgirls. Findings inform attempts to reduce diet-related health and learning risks in teen girls.

Keywords